Hope Is All We Have
by TheRadiantDawn
Summary: Esperanza "Anza" Cruz, a former gang member, is now thrust into the world of where the dead consume the living. Also equipped with taking care of a mute and damaged child, Anza joins up with Rick Grime's group for survival. There is one member in particular that gets under her skin, the tough redneck Daryl Dixon. But, maybe she was the hope he needed... DarylxOC
1. World Gone to Shit

I sprinted down the dark alley as fast as I could. My heart was pounding like an overworking drum. I could feel the energy the adrenaline gave me. It made me numb to the pain I was feeling my chest and my legs. But, it made me acutely aware of my surroundings and my situation. I was being chased by a group of mangled zombies. I held the handgun that Steven gave me in my hand, but I knew I'd be taken down and eaten alive before I could lodge a bullet in between a zombie's head. I didn't have enough bullets for all of them. I knew nothing good was going to come out of joining a gang. But, I sure as hell didn't expect to get chased down by zombies!

There was animalistic yells and screams coming closer from behind me. I spotted a fence in the middle of the slick alley way. I jumped, landing on the fence before quickly scurrying over it. The zombies slammed into the fence like a tsunami wave. They couldn't climb over it but it sure looked like they could tear that fence down. Their arms and glowing yellows eyes were stretched for me though. I could see a sick hunger in their eyes and in their screams. After catching my breath for a moment, I quickly turned around and kept running. I hadn't been home for a year since I joined that gang with Steven, but it was the only place I had to turn to now. Things had gone to shit with the whole infection spreading through out the city and the world. I should've taken that more seriously than the drugs or alcohol. I decided to quit that gang tonight the moment they gave me this gun to kill. But, now, I had to kill.

As I kept on running towards home in Atlanta, Georgia, it was like the night sky was on fire. No, the entire city was. The virus outbreak was causing panic and mayhem downtown. People with gray skin and yellow eyes were attacking civilians. They were turning into..._monsters._

Gunshots, fire, broken glass, blood, and killing everywhere.

Luckily, my Dad lived in an isolated suburb. It was also the first time I was gravely concerned for my sister Carmen's well being. I didn't care about her since she got married and moved out of Albany, abandoning me and Dad. I started to slow down once I saw the house. It was still intact. The house was miles away from the neighborhood, it always had a sort of country feel because of it. I used to key under the rug to get in the house. "Papá, papá , ¿estás aquí?" I hollered in Spanish, our native language. I quickly searched every room for him. The house was empty and dark. I also didn't see his car in the driveway.

I then quickly ran for the home phone. It was dead. So were all the lights and electricity in the house. I then remembered I had a cell phone, courtesy of my now ex and probably dead boyfriend, Steven. I dialed my Dad's cell number. The only thing I could hear was my own frantic heartbeat and the beeping of the phone. He picked up. "Hola?" asked the surprised voice of my Dad. He sounded to be in distress. I couldn't blame him with the impending zombie apocalypse.

"Papá, soy yo, Anza!"

_"Anza?"_ asked the voice of my father, José.

That one word made me feel so much better. "Sí," I breathed, so relieved that he was alive.

"Dónde coño has estado, chica?" my Dad then asked in Spanish.

"With Steven, Tony, and the gang, of course! I know that's not something to be proud of, listen everything has gone to shit. The outbreak is so much worse, the city is in flames right now. And there's...I can't believe I'm saying this, zombies everywhere. I was on the docks about to get into a gang fight when a fucking swarm of them attacked us!" I blurted out as fast I could in English. "I barely got away!"

I looked warily outside my kitchen window. The smoke and buildings ablaze from downtown Atlanta scared me. "I know, I know. I'm up in Peachtree City, was working on a job. Things are getting pretty bad here too. Zombies are all outside." explained my Dad. "Listen, Anza, I want you to gather what you can from home and go to our summer cabin in Albany. I'm meeting your sister and Adam there in a bit."

"Okay. Okay..." I repeated, fidgeting where I was standing. It was a lot for my father to take in, especially since I had run away a year ago. But, with this zombie apocalypse, we had to forget about that and focus on later. I was now safe and that was all that mattered to my Dad.

"I'm sure you can manage getting a car, after all that is your specialty."

I laughed once, tears forming my eyes. I couldn't believe we were joking around at a time like this. "Yeah, that won't be hard." I sighed.

"Chica, I'll call you back in a few minutes. Gather all of our stuff, okay?"

My voice cracked. "Dad, I'm sorry about everything I did. I-I just-"

"-Chica, none of that matters now. What matters is that you are here now and that you are safe, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, I'll call you back. I love you dearly."

"I love you too, Dad."

The call ended.

I already felt better knowing that I now had my father back, even if I was in a zombie apocalypse. It was time for business. I went into the basement to retrieve my Dad's huge wood chopping axe. I used it to smash the window to my neighbor's nice red '74 Jeep Wagoneer. Using the skills the gang taught me, I then smashed open the plastic covering to the stirring wheel column. I found the wiring harness connector without much effort. After fumbling around with the wires, the jeep instantly started. I parked the jeep on the front lawn of my house. Hopefully, my neighbors wouldn't be back soon to see that I stole their jeep. I was glad that those rich bitches made enough money to have an extra car. It only took me about ten minutes to gather all the supplies I could. That was all the time I had at the moment. I found cardboard boxes in the basement. I went from room to room dumping and spilling everything on the table or in the drawers into the boxes. Food, water, clothes, and miscellaneous. The last box took the longest to fill. I scavenged some of my favorite manga and as many photo albums as I could. "Mother, you go here." I said to the photo I held in my hand, gently placing the frame in the box. I heard a loud gurgling growl. I looked up to see my zombified neighbor tackle me. It was Debbie, who lived down the road. Her face was rotting and her eyes were bloodshot yellow. I grabbed her by the neck to prevent her from biting me, her jaw only snapping inches away from my face. That was when the phone rang. It was my Dad and it was going to have to wait. Though I could hear it go to voice mail, I couldn't hear what my Dad was saying. How could I at a moment like this. I managed to shove Debbie off of me. She growled once as I grabbed the axe from off the table. I quickly lodged it into her head. Her skull split in half as blood splattered everywhere.

That was the first person I ever killed, and I knew that it wouldn't be my last.

_"Esperanza Cruz, I want you to know that I love you. You, Carmen, and your mother were the best things that ever happened to me. You don't know how much strength it gives me to know that you will survive. That's why I'm not afraid to die anymore. I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you. Losing your mother was the worst thing that ever happened to me, to all of us, and by being so blind to my sorrow, I lost you. I lost myself. I lost everything. Alex would be so disappointed in me right now." said my father on the voice mail. I could hear the mixed screams of zombies and people on the message. It was getting all static from the noise. My father was calm the entire time despite the chaos surrounding him. "Chica, if I don't make it, I want you to stay strong. Remember what your name means. Every decision you make will either result in your life or your death. And above all, don't trust ANYONE. It's a dog eat dog world out there and it will continue to remain that way. Men won't hesitate to take a beautiful, young woman like you by force. People will kill you because they can. Remember that. And remember that I'll always love you, chica...I'm glad I got to speak to you one last time...I thought I'd never be able to make things up with you again..._" The animalistic roars and shrieks of fear grew louder. _"I'm coming home, Alexandra..."_

The voice mail ended.

* * *

I managed to drive out of town before the quarantine zone was put in place. The soldiers were not only killing zombies, but even regular civilians. It didn't seem like they cared who was a zombie or not. They felt that if they just chopped off the amputated leg that the rest of the world would be okay. It seemed like to much of an effort to find out who was infected or not. They just wanted to wipe out everything.

I managed to make it to the summer cabin up in Albany, but no sign of my family. I immediately feared the worst. Maybe they encountered some obstacles along the way. Or maybe they were just dead. The last time I saw my father was at the court when I was being sentenced to a year in prison for beating up a bully to the point where he had a seizure. The tears in his eyes, the disappointment...I didn't want that to be the last time I saw him. Or Carmen and Adam.

I unloaded all of the supplies in the attic since I wasn't sure if anyone would come across the cabin or loot it. I made my bed there, which consisted of a dusty mattress and a sleeping bag. The attic was secluded and dark, but at least I would be safe if someone broke in. I was on my own for the first time.

I waited at the cabin for three months. There was still no sign of my family. They were probably dead. I didn't see how else they could be this late. Most of the days were spent chopping up wood, hiking, exploring, fixing and tidying up the cabin, scavenging for fruit and berries from the forest, reading, or even swimming in the cold glacier water from the mountain. This place that was so in touch of nature was so out of sync with the rest of the fucked up world. So far, I hadn't found any zombies roaming these parts. Maybe the mountains were too far for them. At least I was getting stronger, my arms were toned from all the wood chopping I was doing for firewood as were my legs from all the hiking. I hadn't looked this good in a long time. I sighed once to myself, laying on my sleeping bag. I couldn't stay here forever. I was running low on food and water. I was sick of being all alone, but I knew I couldn't trust anyone. That changed one day...

I heard the door swing open. There were voices downstairs. The floor creaked loudly. My heart stopped as so much fear took me over. I wasn't alone anymore. I broke out in a nervous sweat. Like the prey hiding from it's predator. I was so afraid that they would come up into the attic, but I had to keep reminding myself that they probably wouldn't. And they didn't. When it was dark and the voices were quiet, I grabbed my handgun and as quietly as I could, snuck downstairs from the attic. It was pitch black in the hallway. I crawled on my hands and knees since I didn't want the floor to creek. When I looked around the corner, I saw a couple of candles dimly lighting the room. There was a woman sleeping on the couch with a young girl, whom I assumed to be her daughter. She must have been around the age of six or seven or so. She had shoulder length black hair from what I could see in the candle light. I stealthy searched the house for other people. Thankfully, it was just them so they weren't a big threat. I didn't know whether or not I could trust these people staying in my home. I thought back to my father's voice mail and decided against it. But, I did feel bad for them. So I left a couple cans of food, some clothes, and blankets beside them. That morning, I heard the little girl yell for her Mommy. I pressed my ear against the attic door trying to listen as best as I could. "Mommy, look! Someone left us some food and clothes!"

"What? Where did you get this?"

"It was beside the bed, Mommy."

"It wasn't there before...someone must have been here!"

"I know!" the girl laughed. "An angel must be watching over us!"

I smiled lightly to myself, climbing back to my little nest. That was the first night I got a good night's sleep. It felt good knowing I was helping that mother and her young daughter. After a couple of days of watching these two, I felt that I could trust them. They were just like me. They were lost in a world gone to shit. This woman had only her daughter to care for. Her daughter would often giggle and laugh a lot.

* * *

I was awoken with a jolt to the sound of a gunshot and a scream. My heart nearly burst from my chest. "Mommy!" I could hear her scream. I could hear what sounded like a couple of men's voices downstairs. Their boots stomped across the wood loudly. They fired a couple of extra shots. I could hear them running around the house. I immediately grabbed my silver handgun. I swiftly climbed down the ladder, tip toeing down the hall to peer the corner downstairs. There were two men holding rifles. One of them was going through the pockets of the mother. I saw a pool of blood forming. "Nah, she got nothing on her." the man sighed. "They must have food around here though."

"What do we do with the kid?" the older man asked.

"Put her out of her misery."

That was when I raised my gun. Both eyes open. I pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang as the bullet hit the elderly man in the chest. He fell to the floor with a loud thud. The other man was immediately on guard, holding steady to his rifle. "Who's there?!" he shouted.

I pulled the trigger again. And he was gone too. I exhaled deeply. I left that night when I was supposed to fight the gang because I didn't want to kill anybody. Not with this gun. But now, I just did. I immediately ran down the steps to the woman. She was still alive. She was trembling, blood spilling from the wound in her chest. The woman was wearing a ragged pink shirt with pants. Her chestnut hair was now stained with her blood. I knelt beside her, placing my hand behind her neck to support her. Her blue eyes looked up with me in surprise. "You-" she coughed. "You're the one who's been leaving us food, haven't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I've been living in the attic."

The woman turned her head towards the corner. I looked in her direction to see her young daughter trembling in the corner. Her eyes were wide in horror. The mother looked back at me. "Please...take care of my daughter," her voice was cut off from the sound of blood filling her lungs. I nodded. "Y-Yes, I will."

The mother continued to hack up blood, staring at her daughter in the corner. She extended her hand out. The daughter immediately grasped it. Tears pouring from her eyes. The mother smiled to her baby. "My poppy...poppy...my poppy seed...you're safe, dear...don't be afraid...don't be afraid..."

I watched as her smile faded slowly from her face. Her eyebrows relaxed. Then, her face was frozen in that expression. The mother was dead.

Me and the young girl spent all day digging a grave for her mother. I picked the grave site at the base of my favorite climbing tree as a kid. The mother deserved to be buried somewhere nice. We didn't talk, but when I did try to talk to her she said nothing. When the hole was big enough, I dragged the mother's body into it. I covered her bloody body with a white sheet. I was beginning to cover the mother's body with dirt when I thought I saw something moving under the sheet. It looked like a hand stretching out. I narrowed my eyes and slowly reached out to grab the blanket. I quickly flipped it over. I looked down in horror. The mother was turned into a zombie. She was growling, her eyes a bloodshot yellow, and her skin turning a sickly green. I quickly smashed her head in with a shovel before she could do anything else. I tossed it, sitting down and panting.

But, how? The mother wasn't bitten by one of those..._things._ So, how did she turn? This was disturbing to me. I placed the white blanket back over the mother again and began burying her. She had to have gotten bit, how else?

The daughter placed some dandelions and wild flowers on top of her covered body. I looked at the mother momentarily, before shoveling the dirt onto her body. The daughter outlined the grave with medium size rocks and flowers. I then placed a small boulder for the headstone. When it was done, we looked over it. The cool wind howled in my ears. The silence of the horror was killing me.

I knelt before the young girl. "Your mother is no longer with us anymore. That means I have to take care of you, like I was before with giving you the food, remember that?" I asked. "I'm your guardian angel."

The girl didn't look at me. Her attention was towards the bright blue sky.

"My name is Anza, what's yours?" I asked.

She still didn't say anything. The girl was frozen like a statue. Still looking at the sky. I didn't press for more information. Her mother was murdered before her very eyes. It was obviously very traumatic for her. I remembered when my own mother died. It was in a car accident. My mother's body was so mangled that the coffin was nailed shut at the funeral. That scarred me for life. I expected bad things to happen everywhere as that eight year old child. My father was in grief and my sister in denial. I had nobody.

I decided that it was time to go. I was running short of supplies and I wasn't comfortable lingering around a crime scene. Every time I'd walk into the living room of my summer cabin, all I would see is the mother and her blood. I'm sure the daughter felt the same. I packed what cans of food I had left, along with a first aid kit and a rain poncho. I placed my handgun in the back of my pants and held onto my huge wood chopping axe. I couldn't bring all of my photo albums or my manga, so I decided to only bring one photo album and one manga (which was Dragon Ball Z). Maybe someday I would come back for the rest hidden in the attic. That would only be when or if I was able to live a somewhat stable life in this apocalypse. I placed the two cans of gas and a tent in the back of my red Jeep Wagoneer. It was a big truck, but I still didn't pack it to capacity. We needed to travel light if we were going to be constantly on the run. I noticed while setting up camp that all the little girl would do is stare at the sky. She never spoke once after the death of her mother. That worried me. The child had shoulder length black hair with a pale complexion and wide blue eyes. She used to smile a lot, but now her expression was of no emotion. No will to live.

"Well, I'm not going to force you to talk. But, I do have to call you by a name. It's awkward just calling you 'girl'," I stated, turning the wheel to avoid bumping into a monster. The girl turned to look at me. At least she was acknowledging me. "I think I'll call you 'Sky'. I mean, that's all you ever do is look at the sky. Okay?"

The girl didn't say anything.

I then looked forward, not knowing where this road was going to take me.


	2. Not Here to Mess with Anyone

I held my rifle close to me as we sifted through the tall grass. The extra rifle I had was poking out of my backpack alongside with my wood chopping axe. I gave Sky the silver handgun for her protection. She was only around the age of seven or eight, so I wasn't too sure about it. After firing a few shots to get used to the ricochet, Sky seemed to get the hang out. The noise of the blunt of the blast didn't phase her.

Nothing did.

We were running low on gas for the red jeep and so I decided to siphon gas from cars in the Atlanta neighborhood. It wasn't as crowded with undead as downtown was. The only down side was that there weren't as many cars either. It had been about a month since I left the summer cabin with Sky. She still hadn't spoken a word or emitted even a facial expression since we left. The death of her mother was still a fresh wound to her.

Today was an unusually hot day with the sun baring down on our backs. I was used to the heat, having spent all my summers in my native country of Mexico. The heat was the closest place to hell. And I was wearing a green tank top and Capri jean shorts. The sweat made my hair matted.

I signaled Sky to stop. I noticed smoke rising in the air. A campfire? Or maybe a house burning down? I wasn't sure or whether to investigate or not, but I felt that it was worth a try. "Stay close to me, Sky," I warned her. "We don't know what lies ahead."

She merely stared at me. I was used to this being her form of acknowledgement. Me and Sky continued to slither through the tall green grass before reaching the trees. We tread carefully on the dirt and bark ground. I could hear talking and the laughter of children running around. I quickly hid behind a tree trunk as a young Hispanic child ran past me. I hid in a thicket bush with Sky beside me, examining the survivors. It was a small camp. Lots of smoke was rising in the air from a campfire. About ten people were surrounding it, laughing and joking around as they ate. They had an RV with an umbrella on it, I assumed for lookout. The other car was a dump of a looking pick-up truck with a Harley Davidson in the trailer. I looked with envy as the people ate meat. I hadn't eaten real meat since the outbreak, only shit in a can. I didn't want to barge in on them. I couldn't. They didn't seem like bandits or shitty assholes like the one's who murdered Sky's mother. They were just normal people. But, they still wouldn't trust a stranger like me. "We'll come back when it's dark." I whispered. "Maybe then we'll be able to get some food and supplies, let's go."

I turned around to leave. Sky followed closely behind. Now, we needed to get back to the jeep and wait. The darkness of the night would be on our side. Though that plan went to shit when I tripped over an uprooted tree root, sending me crashing into the ground, and accidentally firing a round from the rifle I held in my hand. The loud bang of the rifle echoed through the air. "Shit!" I cursed under my breath. Everyone had jumped to their feet at the noise.

_"The fuck was that?"_

_"Daryl, come with me!"_ commanded an authoritative voice. _"Shane, protect the others!"_

Now we were fucked. Sky helped me to my feet. That was when we booked for it in the opposite direction as them. Something whizzed past me, scratching me across the cheek. An arrow landed against a tree trunk with a thud. I turned to see a man with a crossbow aimed at me. I quickly hid behind a tree trunk, clutching my cheek. A little bit of blood begin to surface. "You picked the wrong camp to mess with!" the husky voice hollered.

"I'm not here to mess with anyone!" I yelled back, reloading my rifle. The empty round fell onto the ground. I tossed my heavy backpack onto the ground, knowing that I was going to have to fight. I heard the man stalking through the grass. That was when I swung my rifle around, clubbing the man in the face. He was knocked backwards onto his butt. The crossbow was flung to the ground. I drew my father's hunting knife and tackled him. I tried plunging the knife into his chest, but even with all of my strength, I was easily overpowered. He was much stronger than I was. We rolled across the grass a few times struggling for control over the knife. He then sat directly on top of me, pinning arms against the ground with one knee and his hand. The other hand which held my knife was placed under my chin. The man wore an shirt with chopped off sleeves and green cargo pants. His medium brown hair was short and matted with dirt and sweat. He had dark blue eyes that gouged into my own. A drop of blood formed at his lips where I hit him with my rifle.

The handsome man glowered into my eyes. "Not here to mess with anyone huh?" he hissed.

There was a distinct _chi-chink!_ noise as a handgun was pointed at his head. Sky held the gun intently in her small hands. I could see slight anger forming in her face. The man looked from Sky to me and snickered. "Enough!" hollered a man wearing a sheriff's uniform. "Daryl, get off of the girl. We don't want any bloodshed."

"She fired a shot at us and attacked me head on!"

"It was an accident!" I protested. "I tripped on a tree root and accidentally fired my rifle. I wasn't trying to shoot anyone!"

"Yeah right!" Daryl snorted. "You expect me to believe that after you just attacked me?"

"You were going to shoot me!"

"Damn right I was! You shot first!"

"I said it was an accident!"

The sheriff sighed once. "Daryl, I'm not going to ask again," he stated in a calm voice. "There's a little girl here. If we can resolve this peacefully, we must."

Sky poked Daryl in the head with her handgun as a reminder. Daryl spat once, before releasing my arms and getting off of me. He took the knife with him. A weight was released from my stomach. I sat up as Sky put away her handgun and threw her arms around my neck. I was surprised by what she did as Sky never showed emotion. I patted her once on the back. "You did good, Sky," I assured.

The sheriff stepped in front of me. "Are you going to come in peace? Because I won't hesitate to kill you if you won't."

Sky withdrew from hugging me. I looked up at the sheriff, before tossing the backpack with the rifle and axe. "I don't want to hurt anybody." I answered. "I saw smoke and wondered if there were other people out here."

The sheriff held out his hand. "My name is Rick Grimes and the hothead you just met is Daryl Dixon."

I heard Daryl scoff once as he picked up his crossbow from the ground. He wiped his bloody mouth. I grabbed Rick's extended hand. He pulled me to my feet. I pushed a loose strand of dark brown hair behind my ear. "I'm Anza Cruz, and this is Sky." I introduced myself.

Rick nodded once to Sky, smiling at her. "Hi there."

She gave him a blank look. Another man wearing a green shirt and camouflage cargo pants approached. He had short curly black hair. "What's going on?" the man demanded, his eyes on me.

"Situation under control. This is Anza Cruz, she accidentally fired off her rifle after tripping on a tree root."

"Clutz." Daryl snorted in a low voice, but loud enough for me to hear. I ignored him. I was relieved that Rick did too. He pointed to the man beside him. "This is Shane Walsh, my partner in crime."

I smiled once. "Hi. I'm Anza."

Shane bowed his head once before shaking my hand. "Is that your sister?"

I turned to Sky. We didn't look alike. She was a white girl with black hair and blue eyes. I was of Hispanic descent, though I had my mother's hazel eyes and lighter skin than most Mexicans. I was half Hispanic, half White. I didn't look like Sky.

"No," I admitted. "I just found this girl at the cabin I was staying at. Her mother is dead so I'm taking care of her."

"That's awfully nice of you." Rick stated.

I shrugged once. Shane knelt down and ruffled Sky's messy black hair. She wore an over sized blue grey jacket that reached her knees. "Don't worry, kiddo. You'll fit in just fine here. We have a couple of other kids you can play with too." he assured her. "At least Carl will be happy to have another play mate."

Sky ignored what he said and walked towards the campsite. She gathered around the fire, probably hungry for the food they were cooking. A woman with long black hair sat Sky down before serving her food. She comforted Sky with an arm around her shoulder as she ate the potato. Rick and Shane invited me to meet the others. Everyone greeted me warmly and with happy laughter. I couldn't help but smile too, for the first time in three months. I was afraid of being around people. But, now it felt good to be around them. I sat down beside an Asain kid, who looked more than happy to see me. He shook my hand. "I'm Glenn." he smiled.

"Anza."

"Anza? I've never heard of that name before, but it's beautiful." Glenn nudged me on the shoulder. "Just like you."

Daryl rolled his eyes before taking a sip of a beer.

"It's short for Esperanza," I answered.

"Ohhhh...right." Glenn nodded, of course not knowing that. He had short jet black hair, which was mostly hidden by the baseball cap he wore. Glenn seemed to be the energetic and the cheerful type. He was no doubt cute. I didn't mind that, I needed some of that in my life. "Was that you who fired the shot?" asked a thick voice. I turned to my left to see a bulky dark skinned man sit on a log around the campfire. "Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare any of you. I accidentally tripped." I admitted, sheepishly.

The group went around introducing themselves. I noticed two girls with blond hair and blue eyes sitting next to each other. One of them looked about ten years older than the other. The older one was Andrea, and the drastically younger one who looked around my age was Amy. The woman in her late forties with short grey hair was Carol, she looked timid and weak. The young redheaded girl next to her was her daughter Sophia. A beautiful woman with long black hair tied into a messy ponytail handed me a potato with gravy. She shook my hand. "I'm Lori Grimes, Rick's wife." she smiled at me.

I nodded with a smile. A young boy around the age of ten with trimmed black hair plopped himself beside me and Sky. "And I'm Carl!" he shouted with a smile. We all laughed around the campfire. A withered old man wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt approached me. He had a serious gaze, wearing a fishing hat. I noticed a rifle strapped to his back. "I'm Dale, pleased to meet you." he smiled. "I own the RV over there, if you need anything don't hesitate to come over."

I shook his calloused hand. Daryl sat underneath the RV awning with his feet kicked up against a plastic crate. He had his beer and arrows sitting beside him on a portable lunch table. He was cleaning his arrows while listening.

"So, where are you from?" asked Jacqui, who had dark skin the color of chocolate and her tangled hair in a bun. I thought about it for a few moments. This was not a story that needed to be told. I laughed awkwardly. "Ha ha, um, I don't exactly have the greatest life story."

"Aw, come on!" complained Carl, slapping my arm.

I lost the smile, staring deeply into the crackling campfire. All of my worst memories came to me in a flash. My mother's death, Carmen getting married and moving away, Dad still mourning the loss of my mother, being bullied at school, and joining a gang. How could I find happiness in that?

"I made some pretty bad choices when I was younger. Not something I'm proud of..." I began. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Daryl was staring at me. He must have forgotten that he was supposed to be cleaning down his arrows. I could see the interest on Daryl's face. "But, uh, I came from Atlanta, near the outskirts, which was a good thing when the outbreak happened. I wasn't in the city when it went to shit and got bombed." I continued. "I've been living at my summer cabin up by Albany these past three months. Along the way, I found Sky and have been taking care of her since."

Carl put on his father's sheriff hat. "What about you, Sky? Where are you from?"

Sky didn't say anything. She sat there with a blank expression on her face. The others waited for an answer but were disturbed by Sky's stillness, I could tell they knew something was wrong with this girl. I frowned with sadness, rubbing her back. "Sky doesn't talk. She...she saw things. I gave her the name Sky since I don't know her real name, she won't tell me," I explained. "All she ever does is look into the sky."

Then, the campfire was silent. I thought I saw tears form in Lori's eyes. This poor child. I didn't want to say what really happened, I didn't want to be a buzz kill or talk about her mother's murder at the dinner table. Sky placed her plate on the log and got up and left. "Stay close, Sky, okay?" I told her.

She looked back at me once, then stepped into the RV. The screen door slammed behind. Daryl shook his head before going back to cleaning his arrows.


	3. An Intruder

I decided to head back with Glenn to go get my red Jeep Wagoneer nearby. Some of the others, specifically Daryl, weren't too sure if I should leave. They still didn't entirely trust me. I could understand them not trusting me. I was a stranger in this strange world. But, I felt that Daryl was going too far. "And what's to stop this chola from shooting Glenn in the head?" shouted Daryl, pointing at me. "He's going to be out in the forest alone with some girl we don't even know!"

I rolled my eyes before crossing my arms. "Excuse me, you racist_ fuck_, I'm half-Hispanic half-white," I hissed. "And what reason would I have for shooting Glenn in the head?"

"You don't need a reason nowadays to kill someone."

"Yeah, well I'm not one of those people! If I wanted to stay here with you guys, why the fuck would I ruin that by shooting Glenn in the head?"

Daryl's dark blue eyes pierced into my own. "Maybe there's others you're with."

"Honestly, I'd be more worried if Glenn or anyone was alone in a forest with you!"

With that, I turned and walked away. I gave Shane my two rifles and wood chopping axe. The only weapons I had. Now, I was placing my trust in this group. Hopefully with this, they would trust me more. Shane seemed a little less on edge now. I took the handgun I gave to Sky before heading off into the woods with Glenn.

"How far is it?" Glenn inquired.

"A twenty minute walk or so. I hid the jeep off the road."

"Okay."

Then it was silent. The whole time I was thinking about Daryl. It was infuriating to me the way he treated me. I knew that I was going to have problems with Daryl if I stayed at the camp. Everyone else was just fine and dandy except for him.

"Anza?" Glenn asked, snapping me out of my daze.

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

I looked away, snapping a branch in half as I stepped on it. "Why is Daryl such a prick?"

"I don't know, it's just the way he is. Though he's been more moody than usual since we left Merle behind." Glenn sighed.

I arched an eyebrow. "Merle?"

"His older brother, he was even more of a douchebag than Daryl is."

"Oh great, I didn't think that was possible."

"Me either. We recently got out of a shit storm in Atlanta. The whole city is covered with hundreds and maybe even thousands of walkers. We had to handcuff Merle to the roof of a building and leave him behind since he got too out of control with the group."

Jesus. I hadn't been to downtown Atlanta but now I was sure glad that I didn't. Hundreds of walkers were now roaming the city? There was no way I could go down there for supplies now. The city belonged to the dead.

We reached my car after another silent five minute walk. The huge jeep was parked in between a grove of bushes. I moved swiftly in between the trees. Nobody had touched the jeep. A wave of relief overcame me. I opened the door through the broken driver window. I unlocked the other door for Glenn. He stepped in. "What happened to your window?"

"I stole this car," I answered, plainly..

I scavenged the familiar column of wires looking for the two yellow wires. I pressed them together creating a spark. The jeep came to life. I put the car out of park, tapping the breaks as the jeep was starting to move forward.

"Oh, you also know how to hot wire a car?" Glenn asked with amazement

"Yep, used to do it for fun, taking a a Lexus or a Mustang out for a joy ride. I was a real piece of shit back then." I answered with a laugh, looking behind me as I pulled the jeep in reverse. I made sure not to hit any bushes or trees. I put the transmission onto 1 before pulling onto the dirt road. Glenn guided me through the trails back towards the camp. The cool window blew into the jeep. I wish I had the driver's window to roll the window up. I remember always complaining to my Dad to roll up the windows. Now, I was freezing cold. "You think you can teach me to hot wire a car? I mean, I think it's a skill I need to learn." Glenn then asked.

I smiled mischievously, turning to him. "Sure," I replied. "But, we're going to need another car to practice on. I completely ripped out the plastic container around the stirring wheel. You need to know how to take that apart too."

"Yeah, I have a spare car we can use."

"Sounds good."

Glenn gave me his toothy smile as we pulled up to the camp. I removed the two yellow wires apart and the car died. Both of us slammed the doors at the same time. Eliza and Louis ran around the camp chasing Carl and Sophia. From what I heard, they were playing cops and robbers. Then, I saw the Morales mother, Miranda, step out from the tent. She walked towards me. Like the rest of her family, was of Hispanic descent. She was pretty for her age. Wearing a nice blue summer dress with her dark locks pulled into a bun. Miranda was in the middle of doing laundry.

"Estás de vuelta ." said Miranda. "Fue un viaje seguro?"

I gave a half smile. "Un viaje muy sin incidentes."

Glenn stood there awkwardly as me and Miranda conversed in Spanish. I was at least happy that I could speak my native language with this family. That made me feel more connected to the group. "Si necesitas algo , no tenga miedo de preguntar." stated Miranda with her Hispanic accent, before stepping inside the tent.

"Speak English!" Glenn shouted, grabbing at his hair.

I shared a laugh with Miranda. "She was just asking if we had a safe trip and if I needed anything." I told him.

Glenn grabbed my hand, nearly dragging me through the cars. "Food later, car hijacking now!" Glenn said in a gleeful voice. There was a nice red Mustang in front of the RV. The hood was wide open. Dale and another survivor named Jim were repairing the RV with the parts from Glenn's treasured Mustang. "Hey, Dale, do you mind if we use the Lexus? Anza is going to teach me how to hot wire a car." Glenn asked.

"I don't know if it'll still work." Dale said, warily. "We took out the radiator."

I placed my hands on my hips. "The car will still start. We just can't drive it anywhere otherwise the engine will overheat and explode, okay?"

Dale looked at me with surprise with how I knew this. I only knew the basics when it came to a car like changing the oil, checking the transmission, and shit. Aside from being able to commit grand theft auto. I sat in the car teaching Glenn how to hot wire a car. Soon, Carl and the other children got wind of this and wanted me to teach them. I began laughing when they all started shouting at me. "I'll teach you another time okay?" I asked.

Daryl walked past me, he looked at me as if I was a dead rat. He scoffed before walking around the RV. I noticed that he had my father's hunting knife attached to his leg. Oh yeah, I had been meaning to get that back. I excused myself before following after Daryl.

"Hey," I called out.

Daryl tossed some supplies into the back of his filthy pick up truck. "Hey yourself," he replied in an antagonistic voice.

I fidgeted with my fingers awkwardly. "Look, I think we got off to a bad start. I don't hold it against you for attacking me. You thought I was an intruder, I get that."

"As far as I'm concerned, you still are an intruder." Daryl answered, still not bothering to look at me. I didn't say anything. I was too stunned by the venom in his voice.

"I'm not going to hurt anybody." I reasoned, feeling completely weak on the inside.

"You are hurting people just by being here. You're eating our food and using up our medical supplies. You think you own this fucking place and that we'll just welcome you with open arms?" Daryl snarled, looking me straight in my eyes. I didn't know if he was looking into them or at them. I noticed how I really was little compared to Daryl. He towered over me, having broad shoulders and a muscled body. He certainly was handsome, but that was marred by the cruelty on his face. I noticed Daryl smile at me a little. Did he know I was checking him out? Now he was the one checking me out. I thought I was decent looking, I was wearing a tank top. But, I still didn't like him looking at me that way.

Right now, I felt like shrinking into a ball and disappearing from the world. Daryl just trampled all over me. Then, I felt that sorrow turn to anger when I saw my father's hunting knife strapped to his leg. "Well, one thing's for sure, you don't own that fucking knife at your side." I hissed.

"I do now." Daryl shrugged.

"Give it back, it belonged to my father, and now he's dead so it belongs to me."

"Well, now it belongs to me. I think your father would want me to have it. A little girl like yourself don't know how to use it," then he gave me a snide smirk. "You might cut yourself."

"Excuse me?" Anza snapped, her hands on her hips. "Little _girl?"_

"You heard me," grinned Daryl.

"Bitch, I had two felonies and probation, fight me."

That made Daryl burst out in laughter. I glared daggers at him. When I tried reaching for my hunting knife, Daryl's strong and calloused hand snapped around my wrist. I wasn't going to stand for this. With my other hand, I shoved my other hand against his muscled chest with unexpected strength. He slammed into the side of his truck with a loud bang. Daryl was shocked by what I did. Blind with rage, he charged and shoved me into the dirt ground. I collapsed onto my front side as brute force knocked the air out of me. My dark hair flew around my face. I pushed myself onto my knees. The knife was flung beside me, the blade sticking in the ground. "There, you can have your knife back," snapped Daryl. "Stupid bitch."

I looked away from him. I wouldn't let him see me cry. Hot tears streamed down my face, feeling like liquid fire. I looked back once at Daryl with my pink, teary eyes before picking up my knife and walking away. I stood in front of the cliff side leading to the small lake below. I looked down at the hunting knife. My vision became blurry with more tears. I couldn't hold it back any longer. "Anza, are you okay?" Lori asked.

"Papá, te quiero de vuelta! Quiero que usted casa! Te necesito! Por favor!" I cried aloud into the darkening sky in Spanish. I then looked at my hunting knife that I could at the cabin. I trembled as more tears flourished down my face. Lori continued to ask me what was wrong without any answers. All I wanted was my Dad to be back. I wanted things to be as they were. Now, I was trapped in a world without any hope.


	4. Stray

_"Esperanza Cruz, I want you to know that I love you. You, Carmen, and your mother were the best things that ever happened to me. You don't know how much strength it gives me to know that you will survive. That's why I'm not afraid to die anymore. I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you. Losing your mother was the worst thing that ever happened to me, to all of us, and by being so blind to my sorrow, I lost you. I lost myself. I lost everything. Alex would be so disappointed in me right now."_ I listened to my father's calm voice in the ensuing chaos. _"Chica, if I don't make it, I want you to stay strong. Remember what your name means. Every decision you make will either result in your life or your death. And above all, don't trust ANYONE. It's a dog eat dog world out there and it will continue to remain that way. Men won't hesitate to take a beautiful, young woman like you by force. People will kill you because they can. Remember that. And remember that I'll always love you, chica...I'm glad I got to speak to you one last time...I thought I'd never be able to make things up with you again..."_ The animalistic roars and shrieks of fear grew louder. _"I'm coming home, Alexandra..."_

I turned off my phone after listening to the voice mail again. This had been the first time I listened to the voice mail. That was three months ago. I wish I had taken that call, but Debbie was a monster and had attacked me. I furiously bit at my fingernail. I felt a sharp pain as I split the nail in half. Blood trickled down the nail. Now it was stinging. Just like the pain of losing my family. Thoughts of what could've happened to my Dad filled my head. I covered my face with my hands. It had been three days since I had been with the group. Still, I felt that I was all on my own. Now, I had a traumatized kid to take care of too.

Dad told me that he named me Esperanza because he always wanted me to remain hopeful during my darkest times. How could I be hopeful in a world like this? Dealing with bullies and being a teenager is the least of my problems now. Maybe Dad was wrong. Could I trust these people? I needed to go on a walk to clear my head.

I placed the phone under my pillow before exiting my tent. I zipped up the entrance before putting on my brown hiking boots. Right, I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch today. I quickly grabbed a packet of beef jerky. Dale warned me not to stray too far from camp. I wasn't, but I was going to get in tune with nature. I stepped through the rows of evergreen trees. Branches snapping underneath my feet like popcorn. I bit into the jerky with relief. It was marinated and tasted like hickory smoke. The savory taste fed my hunger quickly.

"Anza!" the shrill voice of Sophia called out.

I turned to my left. I saw the red-headed Sophia standing against a tree trunk a few yards away. I walked through a small dried bush to get to her. "Yeah?" I asked.

She pointed in front of her. As I stepped closer to her, I noticed her quivering with fear. Sophia held tightly to her doll even though she was twelve years old. When I stepped into the small opening, I heard the growling of an animal. I looked to see a huge wolf standing in an offensive pose towards Sophia. It looked like it was about to leap out at her. I thought it was a husky, though maybe a little bigger and definitely a lot more aggressive. It bared all of its razor sharp incisors at Sophia. I slowly stepped beside Sophia, who quickly cowered behind me. She was on the verge of tears. "What do we do?" she stammered.

I noticed a black collar around the animal. This wasn't a wolf, at least not a pure blooded wolf. It was too big to be a husky. I didn't think wolves lived in this part anyway. It had a collar around this neck so it had to be domesticated. Or at least _somewhat_ domesticated. I certainly didn't want to kill it. I knelt down to a crouch. I snapped my fingers at the wolf-dog before whistling once. "Come on, boy, you don't have to be afraid." I cooed. "It's okay, boy."

The wolf continued to snarl at me. I pulled out a giant piece of beef jerky and held it out. I continued to speak softly to the wolf. "Come on, boy." I called out to it. After a few moments, the wolf retracted his sharp teeth. He lost the aggressive pose, then standing calmly on all fours. The wolf treaded carefully towards me. After a moment, he snatched the piece of jerky and scarfed it down. I gave him more pieces as I pet the animal. Slowly, Sophia moved and sat beside me. "It's okay now, he ain't gonna hurt us." I stated. "He's probably really hungry though."

The wolf then tried sinking its snout into the small bag of beef jerky. That made Sophia laugh a little. She grabbed a piece of jerky, feeding it to the wolf before petting it. Now Sophia was less afraid of this creature. "Where's your master, boy?" I asked, grasping the muzzle of the wolf. It's tongue swiped over its mouth. His amber eyes looked to mine. No anger or aggression. I looked to try finding a dog tag but found none. Though I noticed a bent split ring attached to it. The wolf must have lost them through breaking them from a leash or something. I stood up with Sophia, handing her the bag of jerky. The wolf just about went to Sophia's waist. "Can we keep him?" Sophia asked.

"We'll have to ask the others." I answered, grabbing the wolf-dog by his collar. We were able to lead the wolf-dog into camp using the beef jerky. Though now it seemed to be more friendly towards me after giving it food. When we came back to camp, the women gathered around the fire noticed us enter with the wolf. Carl and the Morales children instantly ran towards us excitedly, Sky with less enthusiasm. Lori and Carol walked towards us with great concern. T-Dog chuckled once with delight at the sight of a dog. The children petted the huge animal, with Carl feeding the wolf-dog the rest of his fish. The wolf-dog greedily ate the fish meat. Sky gently petted his grey muzzle. "Where did you find this animal?" Lori inquired.

"Sophia found him in the woods," I answered. "We fed him beef jerky, now he seems to be a little more friendlier."

"Can we keep him?" Sophia asked, her eyes pleading. Carol frowned. Both women turned to each other. Now, even I wasn't sure we could keep this animal. It looked like this guy needed to be fed a lot. He was also very aggressive towards us until we fed him. Lori scratched the back of her head worriedly. "I don't know..." she began.

Carl grabbed his mother's hand. "Aw, come on, Mom!" he pleaded with her.

The RV swung open with Daryl stomping down the short steps. He was munching on a giant chicken leg. "What's the fuss about?" he asked in his Southern accent. That was when he saw the wolfdog. "What did the cats bring in?"

Daryl specifically looked at me when he said. I shot a glower at him while he just chuckled. Daryl knelt down and whistled for the dog to come near. The wolf-dog instantly raced for Daryl, or rather, the giant chicken leg in his hand. I expected Daryl to fight with the wolf over the chicken leg. But, I was surprised when Daryl gave it to him. While the wolf-dog scarfed down the chicken, including the bone, Daryl continued petting and talking to it. I had never seen him this nice before. He had always been a jerk to me and the others. I thought he was going to be the first to object to this, knowing how much Daryl was a giant buzz kill. I was glad he was open to the idea.

Daryl continued to examine the animal and mutter to himself. Jacqui alerted Rick and Shane about the discovery of the dog. Glenn arrived with Amy and Andrea when they heard. Amy smiled once, joining the children in petting the dog. She blended right in with them. Rick knelt next to Daryl and stroked the animal too. He was panting heavily, that was when Sky placed a bowl of water in front of it. The wolfdog slurped down the water as fast as it could. Looks like it hadn't had water in a long time. "Sure would make a fine hunting dog." Daryl commented, scratching it's ears.

"This fella looks like he's going to need a lot of supplement though," Rick added. "We can't give him any of our supplies."

Daryl shrugged. "That's fine, there's plenty of squirrels we can hunt."

Shane was the only one to object. "Rick, come on, we can't keep this animal," he answered. "How do we know this thing is tame or doesn't have rabies? We should just put it out of its misery."

Instantly, all of the children began protesting and shouting their displeasure. Amy and Glenn joined in with them. Rick turned to Lori, who held her hands up in a surrendering pose. "It's your call." she stated. Clearly, Lori didn't want to be the bad guy in this.

"Rick," Shane said.

Rick didn't say anything. We all waited for his final answer. He sighed once. "If you want this dog, you're going to have to take care of him. The responsibility is not on me. If he becomes aggressive or gets infected, we have to put him down. So be prepared." Rick ordered.

"I'll take care of the little beast," I said, stepping in. Now, the wolf-dog was officially mine. Sophia wrapped her arms around its fuzzy neck. She looked up at me and the others. "Hey, we should give him a name. Anza, what about you name him? You're the one that tamed him."

Now all eyes were on me. I awkwardly smiled with embarrassment.

"How about Anza?" grinned Daryl.

I glared at him as he chuckled. They started throwing out name suggestions. _Cooper, Gray, Wolfie, Beast..._

"How about...Walker?" I suggested.

_"Walker?"_ Glenn asked with his eyebrows arched. "You might as well name him 'Biter' or 'Geek'."

I was instantly on the defense. "I don't know. I just...thought of naming him in tribute to all of those who've died from the disease."

That made everyone silent. Daryl patted the wolf on the back. "Walker it is," he said, grabbing Walker by the collar. He led the husky dog towards his tent. "Come on, let's get you some food. Walker, Texas Dog!" Daryl laughed at the end.

The excitement of our new companion didn't fade at all over the next few days. Carl, Sophia, and the Morales children absolutely adored Walker. All eyes were on the wolfdog the next couple of days. They weren't sure how this animal was going to behave around humans. Daryl said he knew for sure that the animal was half-wolf, which made it more unpredictable and aggressive. That didn't exactly curb the fears of Lori and especially Carol. She flat out didn't like the idea of owning a dog, let alone a wolf-dog hybrid. But, there wasn't much she did for stopping Sophia from playing with Walker. He was the closest to Sophia out of the children. I could tell that he was now extremely devote to us, especially me and Sophia, since we were the ones that fed him first. The upside of owning a dog was that they were your best friend. They would give your life for yours. Though I wasn't sure if I was going to see that in Walker, as far as I was concerned, he only stayed here for the food.

"Sky, do you have any clothes you need washed?" I asked, gathering my one box of clothes. She didn't say anything, only stared at me. I didn't press her further. I didn't bring too many clothes with me for my trip. I only had one box of clothing. The rest of my jeep was stuffed with supplies although I had little food. That changed now. I gathered up all me and Sky's clothes in a milk crate, which were all dirty, and walked down to the river. As I walked through camp, I saw Andrea arguing with a thick man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. That man must have been Ed. I had been here for almost two weeks yet had seen little of Ed. Most of the time, he was a stumbling drunk. But, I had heard stories from Andrea and Jacqui that he frequently hit and smacked Carol and Sophia.

"If you don't like the way your laundry is done, do it yourself," Andrea hissed in Ed's face. "And don't you ever hit Carol or Sophia again."

Ed glared at her. "That is none of your concern. All that concerns you geese is doing the laundry and pleasing us in the bedroom."

That was when I stepped in. "What are you? The fucking laundry police?" I snorted. "If you want to be pleased, kindly go sit on a stick. Cuz we ain't doin' nothin' for you."

Ed turned his gaze towards me. A sick smile formed on his fat face as he stumbled towards me. I stepped back with repulsion. "Hey there, sugar, don't think we've been properly introduced," Ed grinned.

"Don't talk to her!" Andrea hissed.

Ed raised his hand at her as if to slap her, before turning his attention back on me. He picked up one of the glasses off the picnic table and filled it with the wine he was drinking. "You sure are beautiful. More beautiful than this lot at least," Ed sighed. "How about we have a drink?"

All of the women opened their mouths with exasperation at what Ed was doing and saying. Carol looked like she wanted to hide in a hole and never come out. Ed extended the cup of wine towards me. I gave Ed a cold look, before grabbing the glass of wine and throwing it in his face. He cried out with shock. "If you _ever_ hurt Carol and Sophia again, I will kill you!" I yelled, then slamming the glass cup against the side of his head. The glass exploded upon hitting Ed's head. He collapsed to the ground, now cut and bleeding. His eyes were wide with shock. Though I could still see that he was very drunk. "You? Kill me? Think again,_ bitch!"_ he hollered, getting up and stomping over to his tent.

We all thought that was that. We were wrong. I noticed Amy cover her mouth and shriek once. "Anza, behind you!" Andrea screamed. The moment I turned around, I heard the loud bang of the shotgun. The shot missed me by a mile. Ed reloaded his shotgun. "I'm gonna have to teach you cunts a lesson!" he snarled.

I booked it. I could hear the loud booms of the shotgun being fired at me as Ed chased me throughout the camp. Luckily, he was so drunk that his aiming was poor. As I ran past the picnic table, my feet became entangled in a jump rope laying on the ground. I instantly crash landed against the gravel. Tiny rocks embedded my bare legs. Scrapes covered my body. It stung like a bee sting.

_Chi-chick!_

Ed aimed his shotgun steadily at me. Only inches away from my face. I trembled, holding my hands up. "I won't miss this time, bitch." he growled, looking into the barrel. There was a sleek thud. Ed cried out once, dropping the shotgun. An arrow was lodged through his fat arm. I turned behind me to see Daryl holding his crossbow.

_He saved me..._

There was a low rumble, less than a snarl, and Walker bolted from Daryl's tent and towards me. At first, I thought he was going to attack me. But, with a leap from his powerful hind legs, Walker flew over me. The wolf landed on Ed with his jaws snapped around his neck. Ed was slammed into the ground as the wolf tore into his neck. His scream last less than a second. Blood sprayed across the gravel. After one second, the wolf turned to me. His jaws were red and wet with blood. Walker padded towards me, his golden eyes staring into mine. Daryl grabbed me by my arm and roughly yanked me to my feet. He stepped in front of Ed, before staring down at him like he was the most pathetic thing in the world. Lori and Miranda covered the faces of their children. Sky had no parent to shield her from this horror. There was no expression her face. Sky put away the handgun I gave her. I could see tears forming in Carol's eyes. But, I saw none in Sophia's eyes. Her face was just as ambivalent as Sky's.

Ed's eyes were wide with agony. He popped a blood vessel in his eye. I could hear a gurgling noise coming from his throat. He was choking on his own blood, which was now profusely pouring out of the holes in his neck. Ed reached out for Carol and Sophia, but they stepped away. We all watched as Ed's face softened. His arm dropped lifelessly to the ground. Blood pooled onto the gravel. Walker rubbed his muzzle against my legs. He whimpered once.

* * *

"That dog is a menace! It needs to be put down!"

"Walker saved my life."

Daryl interrupted. "No, I did, cupcake."

"Walker was the one who killed Ed."

"Yeah, just like a good hunting dog is supposed to."

Although Daryl disagreed with me there, I'm glad that he was at least on my side of keeping Walker alive. Daryl didn't want to lose this precious hunting dog. I didn't want to lose this animal that saved my life. Earlier, I doubted Walker's loyalty. Now, I no longer questioned it. Shane scratched the back of his curly black hair. Old man Dale stood there with his hunting rifle strapped to his back. A look of uncertainty still on his face. "I know he saved your life, Anza, but I don't know...that dog is dangerous."

The blond haired Andrea stood by me. "Walker knew exactly what he was doing when he killed Ed. He saw a threat and eliminated it."

Rick intervened in the heated argument. "We will talk about this later," he ordered. "Right now, we need to move Ed's body and clean up the blood."

The children were sitting on a fallen tree near the edge of the forest. Amy sat next to them, watching over the children and comforting them. The Morales children hugged Sophia, though she looked more than happy to lose her demon of a father. The children were watching the scene intently. Walker was tied up to the back of Daryl's pick up truck. He sat there calmly and elegantly while we debated his life. If only he knew what we were saying. T-Dog and Daryl dragged Ed's body behind the RV. Dale handed Carol a shovel. It was time to bury Ed.

But before anyone could do anything, Carol swung the shovel down the head of Ed. We all stepped back in shock as Carol began yelling out in fury and swinging the shovel repeatedly down Ed's head. The sickening sound of a crushed skull and flesh filled the air. Blood poured from what was once the face of Ed. "I hate you! I hate you! I'm glad you're dead!" Carol screamed at her dead husband, before spitting on his corpse. "You deserve what you got for all those years of torturing me and Sophia! Pain! I'm glad that was the last thing you felt when you died, you fucking piece of shit fat fucking bastard!"

I had never seen Carol this enraged before. But, I could see it coming. After a few minutes of continuing to bash in the dead Ed's head, Carol collapsed to the ground. She tossed the bent and bloody shovel. I could see pieces of his brain on it. Carol began frantically crying. I knelt in front of Carol. "It's okay now, you're free. You and Sophia are free. You'll never have to deal with Ed again." I told her, grasping her slightly wrinkled, frail hands. "Ed can never hurt you guys again. You'll never have to think about him ever again."

Carol sniffled once, wiping her nose with her hand. "Yeah...I just...can't believe it...I'm free..."

Sophia stepped in. "I'd rather face a thousand walkers than to face Dad again."

She kicked the fat mangled body of her father. Sophia helped her mother to her feet. Carol looked sadly upon her daughter. "I should've done it years ago, Soph. I failed you. We're free to live...in a walker apocalypse...what kind of mother am I?"

"Who cares if it's a walker apocalypse? That's better than living with that fat fuck." I snorted.

"Agreed," Sophia said, pulling her mother into a hug. I walked behind the RV to wear Walker was tied up. I scratched Walker behind his pointed ears. Daryl walked past me with the bloodied shovel. He was mumbling about how he was gonna have to clean up that mess that was Ed.

"Daryl," I called out.

He looked back at me.

"Thanks."

His steel blue eyes gazed at me hard. "Don't mention it, cupcake."

I smiled once to myself. Walker let out a long moan, looking up at me. I petted him softly. Maybe Daryl wasn't as bad as I thought.


	5. The Attack

That morning, most of the men left to go retrieve more guns from downtown Atlanta. The only one who stayed behind was the only one who objected. Shane. Well, Glenn stayed too. I gave Rick and reluctantly, Daryl, my two rifles and the ammo I retrieved from the two men I killed at the cabin. We only had three guns in the camp; my handgun, Dale's rifle, and Shane's shotgun. Course, we had my wood chopping axe. Still didn't exactly feel safe with the majority of the men gone.

I went fishing with Andrea and Amy. I had never gone fishing before. They taught me how to use the fishing pole and how to make certain knots. _"Twelve years apart?"_ I nearly exclaimed. "Damn, Andie, you're old."

Andrea frowned, smacking me on the back of the head. The fishing cap I was wearing fell in my lap. We all started laughing. I wound up the fishing pole again, watching carefully to see if the pokeball thing got pulled under water by a fish. "You have any siblings?" Amy then asked, breaking the silence.

I gave a half-smile. "Yes, I did. A sister. She was ten years older than me."

"Not as old as you," Amy giggled, nudging her sister. Andrea playfully smacked her on the back. The two blond sisters laughed again. Amy treaded carefully on her next question. "Is...she gone?" she asked. Andrea eyed me for my reaction. Gone. That was underplayed. More like, dead.

"I don't know," I answered, looking Amy square in her blue eyes. "We weren't exactly close when the outbreak happened. When she was eighteen, she ran off and got married; leaving me and my Dad behind."

Amy gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm guessing your parents aren't alive either?"

I pulled in the line a bit. My eyes engulfed in the light blue water. Just as empty. "My mother died in a car accident when I was six, she's lucky she never got to see what happened to this world." I answered. "I wish she hadn't died, then our family wouldn't have fallen apart. It wouldn't have even mattered if we were living in a zombie apocalypse. Just as long as we were all together, that would've been enough for me."

I smiled as I was off in a daze. Thinking about the life that could never be, even before the apocalypse. The sisters didn't know what to say that. "It's nice that you're taking care of that little girl though." Andrea said, trying to change the subject.

"She never talks. I don't think I've seen her smile once." Amy commented.

"Her mother was murdered before her own eyes." I stated solemnly.

Amy gave a slight gasp. Andrea stared at me. "Was it walkers?" she guessed.

"No, even worse."

I turned to the sound of chatter. Sky was walking along the misty blue river with Carl and Sophia. They talked to each other while Sky sort of lingered behind. She still wore her oversized blue wool coat. Her black trimmed hair creating a curtain around her face.

"They were human."

I didn't catch any fish. Andrea and Amy were the winners of that. They had stacks of fish while I didn't. I shamefully tried to help them prepare the fish. Though I was getting more cuts than it was worth. The knife would either slip and jab my hands or the scales would do it. After slicing the side of my finger index with a scale, I yelped once. "God dammit, I give up!" I shouted, throwing the fish in the pile. The kids, except for Sky of course, all started laughing.

It wasn't too much of a loss for me not helping. Francisco, otherwise known as Pancho, and his wife Miranda prepared and seasoned the fish. Andrea and Amy helped while Jacqui and Lori tended to the fire. It soon began to get dark. We all gathered around the warm campfire in the cold night to eat. This was the first time in a long time that I felt I had a family. I bit into the fish. I had never been one to eat salmon or fish, I thought it was disgusting. But, it wasn't like I had a choice now. That soon changed after digging in. My eyes widened. "Delicioso!" I exclaimed in Spanish. This time everyone knew what I had meant. They all laughed.

"Gracias." Pancho replied, bowing his head once. Miranda rubbed his shoulder with a smile. Louis and Eliza scarfed down the fried fish. "I gotta ask you man, and it's been driving me crazy." Pancho then said, looking at Dale.

"What?" Dale asked, sitting in his reclining chair.

"That watch," Pancho answered, pointing at it.

"What about my watch?"

I zoned out of the conversation they were having when I heard Walker whimpering. He barked a few times. I set my plate aside. "Go feed him please," Lori asked."I am about to do that." I replied, pulling up my short shorts.

Sky nibbled at her fish next to Lori. Daryl had given me a couple of cooked squirrels to give to Walker for dinner. The others had been gone for hours and it was already dark. Shane was avoiding us at the campfire, just staring off into the moonlit night. I brought out the cooked squirrel, dangling from a piece of string. That was when Walker began barking loudly. "I know, I know, you're hungry." I sighed. "Now be quiet."

Walker began tugging violently at his leash. I tossed the squirrel in front of him. Walker didn't even look at it, his focus was elsewhere. He began to bark and howl even louder. Then, he started jumping as the leash continued to restrain him. It looked like Walker really wanted to go somewhere. "What's the matter boy?" I asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

His barks became more shrill, Walker began jumping up and down. I didn't understand why the dog was acting so insane. "Would you shut that damn dog up, he's gonna alert every walker in town!" snapped Shane, walking past the campfire.

Amy exited the camper. "We're out of toilet paper!" she hollered to the group. I laughed once, before seeing a twisted figure stumbling towards Amy. I knew immediately what it was. "Amy, look out!" I screamed. I was too late. The walker at already grabbed Amy's arm and sunk its teeth into it. Amy let out a loud scream of pain as the walker tore out a chunk of flesh from her arm. I immediately turned to Walker, who was now baring his incisors and growling heavily at the walker. That wasn't the only walker to appear. We were now surrounded by a cluster of them. Shane was firing his shotgun, keeping Lori and Carl close behind him. Other people began screaming and running all directions. Pancho was using a baseball bat to bash in the head of a walker. I saw Sky pick up my very heavy wood chopping axe and slam into the side of a walker's head, protecting herself and the Moralez children.

I grabbed my hunting knife and began sawing quickly through the rope holding back Walker. When I was only half way through the rope, it snapped. Walker darted for the nearest walker. The walker had dug its teeth into the screaming Amy. Walker snapped his jaws around the walker's leg, and began dragging it away from Amy, who fell helplessly to the ground. Andrea immediately rushed to her sister's side as Walker dealt with the walker. It tried clawing back towards Amy. Walker then snarled loudly, repeatedly raking the walker's face with his powerful jaws.

I aimed my gun and fired a shot at a walker's head, only for to be quickly replaced by two more. I shot both point-blank in the faces. Four more charged for me. I shot all of them, having to use an extra one to kill the last one. I tried to shoot another that was harassing Jacqui and Miranda. There was only a clicking noise. No bang. I was out of bullets. I cursed once, tossing the gun. Then, I heard a shrill scream. A walker had tackled Sophia. It's teeth were snapping only inches away from Sophia's face. Carol was screaming frantically for her baby. But, two walkers charged for her. She used the kitchen knife she was using for her dinner to stab through them. I ran across the camp through a couple of walkers to Sophia.

I grabbed the walker that was on Sophia. "Get off her, you fuck!" I shouted, pulling out my hunting knife and gouging it's eye out. It coughed once as its second life was taken by me. The walker collapsed to the ground. Sophia panted heavily from the close encounter. Carol rushed for her, grasping her baby in her arms. She led Sophia away with the others being protected by Shane and Dale. I noticed Jim getting devoured by a group of walkers. I felt bad that I couldn't help him. He was a goner for sure. Then I felt a pair of teeth sink into the side of my neck from behind me. Pain shot up through my neck. I let out a loud scream. There was a gunshot and the walker slowly slumped at my feet. I turned around. Shane had shot the walker. His attention on me was short. Shane was focused on killing the other walkers. More shots rang out and I saw Rick leading the group back into camp. Seeing them arrive brought forth a new set of courage into me. I heard another shot painfully close to me. I turned around to see a walker collapsed to the ground.

Daryl stood a few feet away from me. "That's the second time, sweetheart!"

I then threw my hunting knife. It hit the walker beside him square in the face. "Now, you only have one." I smiled back. I could see a grin form on his face. We quickly turned out attention to the remaining walkers. Daryl stabbed a walker in the eye with an arrow before quickly loading and shooting it. I didn't join the others as the last walker was shot down by Shane. I looked at my wound. That walker bit me on the base of the neck and shoulder. The walker didn't have the chance to rip out the flesh in my neck since Shane shot him. I quickly put on my jacket which was wrapped around my waist. I tried covering the gouging wound, which was now profusely bleeding. All I heard was crying that night. I wiped the sweat from my brow. The walkers trampled through the tents and knocked over everything. Walker nudged me with his bloodied muzzle. Now, Walker was infected too. Walker would become a walker. Carl ran into his parents arms. Carol held Sophia tightly. That was when Sky ran towards me, dropping the axe along the way. While holding Sky, I looked over to the camper. Andrea was holding her dead sister. When it was clear that Amy was dead, Andrea let out a tormented cry of emotional agony. Lori covered her now teary eyes. Bloody corpses covered the compound. I placed my hand on my bite. I would soon join them.

As the dead or the undead.


	6. The Morning After

I didn't get any sleep that night. No one did. No one could. We were too busy mourning and burying the dead. For the rest of the night, I sat on the cliffside giving me the view over Atlanta. I could see the sun rising slowly. A new day. Walker whimpered once by my side. I looked behind to see Walker once again tied to the back of Daryl's shit pick up truck. Since Walker had bitten the other walkers, we weren't sure if he would turn into one. He was a dog and nobody really knew if the infection could infect other species. So, we tied him up and decided to wait a few days to see if he would turn. It was extremely hard to do so. Even Rick and Daryl thought about shooting the dog. But, I convinced them otherwise. I was frantically crying and didn't want anyone else to die. Including the dog.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl p. His tight muscles flexing every time he did. Glenn and T-Dog were helping drag the bodies to two separate piles. The dead and undead. I would be joining either one of those piles. I quickly took a peek at the wound. It was still stinging from last night. Felt like needles had been shoved into my neck and shoulder. It was slowly spreading, I could feel it. Maybe it was better this way. We would all eventually die to the infection. It was only a matter of time, why deny it now?

"Okay, kid, enough sitting on your ass doing nothing." Daryl's rough voice said from behind me, he grabbed me on the shoulder, right where I had gotten bit. He slowly withdrew his hand that was now covered with my blood. Both of our eyes instantly locked. "Did you get bit?" he demanded.

"No." I croaked.

"Lemme see."

"I said no!" I then shouted, getting up. Agitated, Daryl tossed aside the axe and grabbed me. I tried fighting him, but he was too strong for me. Daryl pulled down the side of my shirt, fully exposing the wound. I was bitten. Daryl grabbed me by the arm and dragged me through the dirt towards the group. I struggled trying to get up, but I was helpless. "Anza got bitten!" he shouted, announcing it to the whole world. Daryl then tossed me onto the ground. I slammed into the dirt with rocks embedding themselves on my hands and scrapped knees. The entire group rushed to where we were standing. I slowly rose to my feet. Now, they were giving me different looks. Jacqui looked at me as if I was a disease. The same looks that Daryl was now giving me. Glenn appeared, not believing it. "Liar, show me."

Daryl pulled down the side of my shirt. You could clearly the bite mark on the base of my neck and shoulder, as well as part of my bra. I quickly pulled up my shirt. "Don't do that, you pervert!" I shouted, slapping Daryl across the face. Though it didn't really hurt as much as it could have.

"I ain't looking at ya, ya dumb shit!" he shouted back at me. "I was showin' everyone your bite mark!"

I fought back tears, crossing my arms and looking away. It was over now. I wanted to die. Rick sighed heavily, walking me over to behind the trailer. Walker looked up at me and whimpered. Now he was giving me those looks that the others were. Rick put a bucket on the ground for me to sit on. "Wait here, we need to talk with the others." Rick said, wearing his sheriff uniform. Throughout the entire conversation, which was debating over whether or not they should kill me, I noticed Daryl glancing over to me every now and then. Whenever our eyes met, I looked away. I was wrong about Daryl. He only saw the worst in everything. He didn't want to try and work things through. His answer to everything was a gun to the head. Sky walked over to me. I could see intense sorrow in her eyes. She stared at the gouged wound on my neck. For the first time since her mother's death, I saw tears forming. I grabbed her hand. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Sky." I cooed. "You'll still have these people, okay? Don't cry."

My words didn't stop her. She wrapped her arms around me and cried. Her eyes red and sore from the tears. Before I knew it, Daryl had charged for me with a bloody pick axe. Me and Sky toppled over. I held my arms in an attempt to shield myself. Daryl raised the pick over his head, ready to swing it for the final blow. Sky grabbed my hunting knife. She poked the knife at Daryl's abdomen. The others quickly caught up. Sky shot Daryl a glare, who snickered. "You think you can kill me, little girl?"

Sky narrowed her eyes.

"Answer me, or are you retarded?" Daryl hissed.

Rick stepped in front of Daryl with a gun pointed at his head. "That's enough, Daryl," he snapped.

Daryl chuckled once, glaring at me. "You can think your little girl for saving you, but even she can't save you from that infection."

I felt as if a hole had been punched through my chest. He dare make fun of the fact that I was now infected? I could retaliate in a way that would only rustle Daryl's jimmies. "How does it feel getting your butt kicked by a sixty pound girl? Twice?" I immediately barked back.

Daryl tried charging at me, but Shane and Glenn restrained him. He shoved the two men away. Daryl stalked off in a fury. When he was gone, Sky dawdled towards me. She handed me back the knife. I shook my head. "You keep it, you've earned it, kiddo." I insisted.

I then unbuckled the strap, giving her the sheath. Sky examined it. The brown leather sheath had Mexican embroideries on it. "That knife has been in my family since the Battle of the Alamo, it has seen many battles, and it will continue to see more battles. It will live through this one too." I continued. "You will need it's strength."

Sky held the knife close to her like a precious treasure. She leaned her head against my shoulder, my good shoulder. Walker whined loudly. I was at least hoping that Walker wouldn't get infected.

The cars were packed and ready to go by noon. The sun was now bearing down on our backs. This was around the time that I began to feel the effects of the bite. At first, only just the pain of having my neck and shoulder bitten into. Now the throbbing and needle-stabbing pain was spreading. Right now, the sharp pain was blossoming across my back and arms like a flower. I also began to feel hot. The heat outside wasn't helping any.

I sat in the back of the camper in a plastic chair beside the bed. I managed to make the chair fit between the wall of the RV and the bed, the aisle. I watched outside intently. The others were debating over my life again, as well as Walker's. I'm glad that they didn't shoot Walker at least. Though I should've been grateful that they didn't shoot me. Daryl wanted me dead whilst Dale and Rick defended my life. Daryl disgusted me now.

"Aye," called out a voice.

I looked up to see Pancho standing in the small hallway with Miranda and their two kids. "¿Cómo estás, amigo?" he asked in Spanish.**  
**

"Estoy empezando a sentir." I mumbled. "No voy a durar mucho más tiempo, así que decir adiós." **(I'm starting to feel it. I won't last much longer, so say your goodbyes.)**

"Eso es lo que vinimos aquí. Nos vamos a reunir con otros miembros de la familia. Queríamos comprobar para arriba en usted ... y decir adiós." **(That's what we came here for. We're leaving to reunite with other family members. We wanted to check up on you...and say goodbye.)**

I nodded once. "Bien, le deseo lo mejor. Sido un placer hablar con usted y su hombre de familia." **(Well, I wish you only the best. Been nice talking to you and your family, man)**

I then smiled as I lightly joked, "Estoy seguro de que va a tener a nadie se pierda de conversar en español con." **(I'm sure gonna miss not having anyone to converse in Spanish with.)**

Their two young children laughed at once. Pancho and Eliza smiled sadly. Louis approached me. "Prometo siempre que honrar el día de los muertos, amigo." he proclaimed in his high-pitched voice, heavily laced with an Latin accent. I nodded once. "Gracias."

After the hasty goodbyes, Pancho shook my hand like we were business partners. Miranda leaned over the bed to give me a hug. Though I was a little sweaty from the sickness. Louis and Eliza shook my sweaty hand again. Carol approached me with a cold cup of water. I greedily drank it. "They say goodbye?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

I exhaled deeply after drinking for a long time. "Yes...and Louis said he would always honor me on the Day of the Dead." I answered. "What difference does it make anyway? Everyday is the Day of the Dead."

* * *

"Her fever is getting worse."

"What the hell do we do? We can't just shoot her."

"Sure we can."

"What about that damn mutt?"

"Walker is in the back of Daryl's truck. He's just fine."

"Maybe the mutt really is immune to the disease."

I heard them talking outside once more. I was shivering violently, including my left leg. Every hair on my body was standing up. The bite mark on my neck was on fire. It felt like someone dumped hot grease onto it. There was nothing I could do. Between letting out grunts of pain, I looked out the window. My whole body was drenched in sweat. My stomach was burning worse than a bad case of gas and a menstrual cramp combined. Sophia and Carl stared at me with fear. They hated seeing me in this agony. Sky wiped my forehead with a wet rag. Someone stepped into the RV. It was Rick, he walked towards me. The only thing he could do was watch me be in this much pain. "I've talked with the others and we've decided to ask you, what you want us to do." Rick stated.

I exhaled deeply. "What I want?"

"Yes."

"You aren't going to shoot me?"

"If that's what you want. This is your call."

I sat up in the bed. I thought about it through the burning pain as much as I could. Did I really want to turn into a zombie? Or would it be easier just to blow my brains out with a gun? At least I wouldn't be one of those things. I would die with humanity and the remainder of my already low dignity. But, that didn't really matter to me. Esperanza Cruz would still be gone. She would be dead. All that would remain was a walking shell of my former self. Now, a monster. When you're dead, you're dead. There is no afterlife. I didn't care what happened to my body. The pain though...the burning pain...when would it end? I couldn't handle it anymore.

Then a thought crossed my mind. A thought that made me forget the intense pain I was in. "Yes, I know what I want." I then said as confident as I could.

"What do you want us to do?" Rick asked, eyeing me.

"You said you were going to the CDC, which is near downtown Atlanta, right?"

"Yes? You want us to take you there?"

"No, I'll be fully turned by then," I answered. "I want you to take me to my mother's grave."


	7. No Despair, No Pain, No Nothing

Shane carried me in his muscled arms while I guided everyone to my mother's tombstone. Luckily, my mother was buried on the outskirts of Atlanta in a small graveyard. So everyone was willing to stop by it. Unfortunately, a couple of walkers lingered there too. We killed them quietly. Daryl stabbed one through the base of their neck with a knife, exiting through their skull. Then shot the other in the head with his crossbow. He pulled out the bloodied arrow. "All clear," he stated, overlooking the cemetery for more undead.

"Where's the grave, sweetheart?" Rick asked.

I pointed straight ahead. "It's the gravestone with two angels and flowers carved in on each side."

That tombstone stood out from the others. It was more beautiful than the rest. Dad had spent so much money to make it that way. Her grave was distanced away from the other graves. A cherry blossom tree guarded her grave. Everyone was silent as they approached the grave of my mother. "Alexandra Rose Cruz, nee Barnes." Carl read aloud to us. "January 4, 1965 - August 9, 2001. She died before the outbreak then, huh?"

"Yeah. Car crash when I was six. I remember her body was so disfigured from the crash that the coffin had to be shut. She was later cremated with her ashes being buried here." I spoke through my burning fever, as everyone listened intently to my story. "When Mom died everything went to shit, even before the apocalypse. My sister, Carmen, got married right after and left. It was too hard for her. My Dad never got over it and I felt all alone. That's why I joined a gang and got in with the drug cartels real good. Went to jail for committing grand theft auto a few times, now you know why I know how to hot wire a car, Glenn."

Glenn gave a half smile at that, his hands dug in his pockets. T-Dog approached me. "You a gangsta, alright, ma girl." he said lightheartedly. He gave me a high five, though I was too weak to even lift a hand. T-Dog held my hand while he slapped his over it.

Daryl scoffed at that. "Anza? A gangster? Gimme a break."

I managed to roll my eyes through the pain. "It's true," I groaned. "And even when I'm about to die, you never cease to annoy me. And I've only known you for two days. Even as I lay dying, trying to lighten up the mood. I noticed the corner of Daryl's mouth sort of pull up into a half smile. Lori picked up a framed photograph of my mother from her grave. She was Caucasian. With long blond hair with hazel eyes, and high cheekbones. I looked like the Hispanic version of her. "This your mother?" she asked.

I nodded once in my fevered and hazy state. "Yes," I croaked.

"She was very beautiful," Lori commented, turning to me. "Just like her daughter. You have her eyes and face."

I managed to laugh, though it soon turned from smiles to hacking and coughing. I could feel it in my stomach. I was going to puke again. I wriggled out of Shane's arms, dropping to the ground. I began coughing, coughing, and coughing. The group could only watch with sadness as I began to vomit fountains of blood. It was very thick and clogging my throat. The blood was bunching up in my throat and I was choking on it. I felt like I was dying even more. My stomach felt like it was being squeezed to death. Dale rubbed my back in a comforting manner.

Walker sniffed my face, before licking it. A swipe of blood right off my mouth. I wiped the remaining blood off that stained the bottom of my chin onto my jacket. I looked up at the group. Their faces were so sad. Shane and Daryl each grabbed and arm and leg, hoisting me forward. Then, carefully, they laid me beneath my mother's gravestone. Daryl gently held the back of my head so I didn't hit the hard ground. My muscle felt like glass, shattering each time something barely scratched the surface. Daryl then slowly got up. They all stared down at me. Now, I knew it was time to go. Sophia knelt beside me. She held some wild flowers in her hands. "Those for me?" I breathed.

"For you and your Mom," Sophia corrected.

"That's sweet of you, take care of your Mom and be a good friend to Sky, okay?"

"I promise."

Sophia placed the wild flowers above my head. They laid gently on the tombstone beside the framed photos. One by one they all said goodbye. Glenn wiped away his tears. "I thought I had made a friend."

I smiled lightly. He grasped my hot and sweaty hand. It probably felt like a volcano. "You did." I stated. "And now with your hotwiring skills I taught you, you should be able to use my jeep. It's yours."

"I promise to take care of it."

"Yeah, feel free to use anything I once had. All of you." I announced as loudly as I could. Then, I rolled my head over to Daryl. "I was originally gonna give the jeep to you since you have a piece of shit truck, but I like Glenn more." I smiled, gleefully. There were a couple of low laughs. Daryl rolled his eyes, throwing his crossbow on his shoulder. Rick knelt beside me, holding one of my rifles. "Do you want this?" he inquired.

I gave a weakened laugh. It sounded like I was drowning though. "What's a zombie gonna do with a rifle?" I breathed. "You're gonna need it more than I ever will."

Rick nodded, shaking my sweaty hand. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Anza. It was a real pleasure in knowing you."

"You too, cop." I croaked.

Rick stood up and left with the others. Sophia wanted to keep saying goodbye to me, but Carol advised her against it. She told everyone to give me and Sky a moment alone. Sky rushed into my arms. I patted her on the back. "I'm sorry about your Mom, kid." I apologized, my voice sounding like a frog's. "And I'm sorry this had to happen to me. Promise to be strong okay? For me?"

Sky withdrew, sniffling once. She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. I tapped the knife strapped to her side. "Make me proud." I whispered. "And I hope someday, you find your voice again."

She nodded once, with a smile. That was the first time I had ever seen her smile. Reluctantly, Sky stood up and slowly walked away. Walker remained at my side. They decided that they couldn't care for the animal. They weren't sure if he was infected or not. If he was, it was very slowly affecting him. Even then, it didn't look like they could move Walker. He refused to go when Sophia and Sky tugged on the leash.

I felt a nudge in my side. Daryl had lightly tapped me with his boot. Though it made my side burn even more whenever I moved. To my surprise, Daryl sat beside me with his legs crossed. "Hey, kid." he then said.

"Hey, jerk off." I breathed back.

He was silent for a moment. Daryl deep in thought. Then, all at once he said, "Look, sorry I snagged your shirt and what not. I know if anyone else was watching they woulda thought I was forcing myself on ya or something. I just had to do what I had to do. I had to know if you were bitten and I'm sorry if I was rotten towards you. I just get so frustrated sometimes. So, I'm sorry for that. I dun' want you to get bit."

Was he actually apologizing to me? Maybe he wasn't so heartless after all. Then, I quickly erased that thought. He wasn't heartless, he was...hopeless. He was a man who had given up on life. I shot Daryl a half smile. I was in a state of peace, although the fire was burning my insides. "Yeah..." I muttered. "You did save my life twice though."

Daryl lost the happiness in his face. I could see the guilt in his steel blue eyes. "And in the end, it meant nothing, because you're dead now."

"It didn't mean nothing. Everyone is faced with dangers everyday," I uttered throatily. "Walker or no walkers."

Daryl didn't say anything. He picked up his crossbow and stood up. He scratched Walker on the ears. "I guess you don't want to come with me, yeah?" Daryl asked in a babying voice. "You watch over Anza, okay?"

Walker barked once in reply. I opened my eyes weakly, taking in the last of the handsome features of Daryl Dixon. His short brown hair and narrowed cold blue eyes, his tattered clothes, muscled body, and his cynical attitude. I was actually gonna miss our bantering. "Goodbye, Daryl Dixon." I breathed.

After a long pause, Daryl replied. "Goodbye...Esperanza Cruz."

I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. I could hear the cars starting up, including the Wagoneer jeep I once owned. Now, I was content with death. I had made my peace with the closest people I considered my family. I grabbed at the grass underneath my hands. I was also with my mother. After about ten minutes, I slowly started to feel myself slip away. I was relieved that the pain was starting to fade away with this sleep. "Goodbye..." I said with my last breath. I felt myself fall into a black abyss of nothingness. No despair. No pain. No nothing.


	8. Resurrección

There was a loud ringing in my ears. It was like a demented whisper. I could feel myself slowly wake from my sleep. I was drowsy and tired as all fuck. The morning light was like the burning sun. I blinked a few times, covering my face. After my eyes got adjusted to the light, I looked up to see a couple of cherry blossom petals float to the ground. My entire backside was wet from the morning dew on the grass. I looked all around me. I was still in the graveyard. I then turned behind me. My mother's tombstone was there. Was I dead? Was I in heaven? Or hell? I snatched the flowers that Sophia had left behind and looked at them. They were starting to dry out.

Was I seriously alive? Or was this a dream?

I noticed a small pile of dead squirrel and rat carcasses beside me. There was also a couple of dead squirrels that remained untouched. They looked fresh. I wondered if they were for me. I then heard a woof. Behind me, I looked to see Walker trot into the graveyard with another squirrel in his jaws. He plopped right next to me, before ripping into the squirrel. I looked at my watch. It had been a week exactly since I died. I touched my neck. The bite from the walker was still there. Though now it was covered in rough scabs.

"Did we really survive getting bitten?" I asked Walker, who paid no attention to me. He was too busy gnawing on a squirrel. I slowly stood up, although my legs felt very weak. I collapsed back to the ground. As my dull senses continued to return to me, I then knew it wasn't a dream. I survived being infected.

That meant I could help create a cure with my blood. I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. Hope. I was still very weak and groggy from the illness and not eating or drinking for a week while I was in some sort of near-death state. I couldn't go out and find food in my condition. So, I had no choice but to bit into the raw squirrel. I could feel the blood gushing into my mouth. I almost gagged while I ate it. But, I continued to rip out large bites. I needed my strength more than anything right now. I just hoped that the squirrel didn't get me sick. After hastily eating the disgusting raw squirrel, I could feel the hunger and weakness dissipate. After about an hour of resting in front of my mother's grave, I stumbled to my feet. Walker instantly arose once I did.

I had to reunite with the others. If I had known that I was going to be resurrected, I would've told Rick to give me my rifle. Now, I had no supplies, no car, no guns, no nothing. I grabbed Walker's leash and the two remaining dead squirrels. "Come on, boy, we need to find the others." I stated, before turning around to see my mother's grave. The small stone angels attached to both sides of the grave and the engraved flowers were so beautiful. It would be a long time before I returned to this graveyard to see my mother again. I picked a couple of hydrangeas and daisies, and placed them on the grave of Alexandra Cruz. I contemplated taking the photo of her off of the grave, but decided against it. The photo would be safer here. "Goodbye, Mama." I said to the grave. "I guess it's not my time yet to join you, but I know someday we'll meet again. Until then, Mama. Adios."

Walker began yanking on the leash. With one last look, I turned around to be lead out of the graveyard by an impatient wolf dog.

I knew I'd be able to find a car near Atlanta, but that also meant more walkers. So, I made my way through the forest with Walker. Most of the walkers were out on the streets, but I kept my eyes peeled none the less. While walking through the woods, I found a small pick up truck with a trailer attached to it. There was a Yamasaki motorcycle in the back. Walker began growling intensely, then barking at the tree. A rotten corpse of a middle aged beatnik lay against the tree. He had a tiny handgun in his hand.

"Just my luck." I muttered under my breath.

I took the handgun, placing it in my back pocket. I went through all his pockets. I found a half empty pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a pint a Jagermeister, and a nail file. I noticed that the nail file was covered with dried blood. This druggie must have used it as a weapon. There were beer bottles and needles littering this guy's body. I noticed a cardboard sign beside him. It read 'Opted out. Feel free to take my stuff if you want to live though. Harold.'

"Harold?" I then turned to the rotting corpse. "Harold, I thank you for all of this. It will really help me."

Reluctantly, I took the cigarettes and alcohol. Been awhile since I did anything like that. The nail file would also make a good weapon. I only had five rounds in the tiny revolver from Harold. I also got a nice Yamasaki, although I had no idea how to ride a motorcycle. My ex and now dead boyfriend Steven always had me in the bitch seat. Maybe Daryl could teach me when I got back with the group. The thought of that made me smile.

I opened the passenger seat and Walker jumped right in. After entering the rusty pick up, I busted open the plastic stirring column. Until I realized that the car keys were in the ignition. I felt like a complete idiot as I started the truck with the keys. It roared to life, though was very squeaky. I was worried that it would alert walkers and other people to my location. There was nothing else I could really do though.

I quickly pulled out of the small dirt trail and back onto the main road. I rolled down the window for Walker, who had his tongue dangling out and blowing through the wind. He was definitely a happy dog after that. A walker ran out into the middle of the road and towards me. I quickly picked up speed and kicked open my door, slamming it into the walker. There was a loud kabam as the walker was knocked back. Of course, it didn't kill him and nor did I expect it to. Now, there was a small dent in the door now. Not that it mattered too much to me, this was a piece of shit car. Even when compared to Daryl's shit truck.

Rick said that the group was going to the CDC. That was in the city of Atlanta where the thousands of walking dead were. Not only would I be reunited with them, but I could provide a cure for the walkers. This brought in a new desperation and bravery inside me that had never been there before. Every now and then I'd come across a walker, but I'd usually stir clear of them. Though they'd sometimes ram into the front of the truck, resulting in a rather bumpy ride and a few more dents to the truck. So, I drove on the back roads to the CDC, which I knew it was going to be filled with walkers.

I had my arm hanging outside on the door. The window brought the fresh breeze in. It had a faint stench of death though. My eyes went wide once I saw it. I pushed on the brake, halting the pick up to a stop.

Daryl's pick up truck front first had slammed into a streetlight. I also saw Dale's RV, my Wagoneer, and Rick's car. They were all across the road. Some of the doors were left wide open. It looked as if they slammed on their brakes and left the vehicles abruptly.

But, why?

I quickly turned off the pick up yanking the keys and clipping them to my side. Walker jumped out of the open passenger window. "Hello? Rick? Daryl? Sky?" I hollered in a loud voice. I scanned each vehicle with a glance. I came to a dead stop. There were bullet holes in some of the sides of the cars. The windshield to Daryl's pick up had three bullet holes in it. Cracks and shattered glass everywhere. I was relieved to not find any dead reanimated bodies of them. That was when I knew that walkers didn't do this.

They were attacked by other people.

Who had guns.

It only made it just as dangerous as the threat of walkers.

Suddenly, I heard a loud and shrill scream. It sounded like Sophia's. That was when I grabbed Walker by the leash and sprinted into the woods with my gun drawn. After I began to hear voices I knelt down and quietly made my way towards them. It sounded like an argument between a couple of men. I heard someone laugh in between. I was only a couple of yards away from them. Careful not to snap any twigs or alert them of my presence, I laid on top of a tiny dirt hill surrounded by bushes and trees.

There was a group of young men holding rifles and hand guns. My group were rounded up in a circle with their hands on top of their heads. One of the men held Sophia hostage, a gun pointed direcly at the side of her head. Another man grabbed Lori by her dark brown hair and began dragging her away. Lori struggled as he did this. Two other men threw a crying Andrea to the ground. Carl screamed for his mother, but was met with a kick to the face. Rick and Shane were screaming on the top of their lungs for them to stop.

Something had to be done quick.

Even Walker could sense that, a low rumble formed in his throat. I held him back on his leash. I only had five bullets and there were ten of these fuckers, who all had guns. Although I knew that the moment I initiated a fight that the others would join in. I aimed steadily for the man who was going to rape Lori. He was trying to hurry in ripping off his belt and pants.

I pulled the trigger.

_BANG!_

The man let out a loud wail of agony, clutching his now profusely bleeding jaw. He collapsed to the ground clutching his face. I didn't hit him in the skull, I thought disappointingly to myself. My aim still needed work. The men were instantly on the defense, their guns aimed towards all directions of the forest. All men feared the unknown.

"Who's there?" a man hollered.

A low growl rolled in Walker's throat. His razor sharp teeth were bared. This had to be a hunting dog. It couldn't just be the wolf in him. It was time to fight. I released his leash and Walker bolted through the bushes. The sound of the bushes ruffling alerted them to a presence. The first man who saw Walker screamed. He tried shooting Walker, but the wolfdog was already on him like salt on a pretzel. Walker began ripping into the man's throat. Another tried to shoot him, but Daryl got up and punched the man in the nose, before taking his rifle and shooting him.

That was when everyone else got up too and fought back. Shane easily took down one of the bandits while T-Dog wrestled a shotgun out of another's hands. More shots were fired and two more fell to the ground. Glenn and Dale helped the ladies and the children to their feet. They quickly scurried away to the forest while the men handled this. I noticed another man punch Andrea in the face, who was trying to escape with Lori. I raised my small handgun and fired a shot. It hit the man in the chest. He let out a loud cry before slumping over. Lori and Andrea turned to me. Their eyes went wide upon seeing their dead friend alive. Both women quickly ran into the forest.

Walker sunk his teeth into the ass of a bandit about to shoot Shane from behind. T-Dog blasted him in the chest with his shotgun. Daryl was stealthy and strong at the same time. He swiftly took down the last two bandits with no sweat. Swinging his arm around and stabbing one in the neck with his own switchblade, before turning to shoot his partner who was about to shoot Daryl. Our eyes met on the battlefield. His widened with surprise.

"Anza?" he breathed.

I aimed my gun towards him and fired. It hit the man who was about to stab the distracted Daryl square in the eye. "That makes us even," I smiled, checking how many bullets I had left.

I had one left.

Time to make it count.

There were only a couple of survivors. The man I hit in the jaw was whimpering and rolling in the dirt pathetically. T-Dog rushed towards me along with Shane and Rick. I got poked on the forehea by T-Dog, who was still taking in me being alive. I couldn't help but turn red with embarrassment.

"Are you real?" T-Dog gasped. "Anza, is that really you?"

"Yes, it is." I smiled.

Next thing I knew, T-Dog took my face into his hands and planted a giant kiss on my lips. I just stood there surprised and wide eyed that he did that. "Mwa! Oh my gosh, girl, I thought you was toast!" T-Dog exclaimed, squeezing me half to death with his arms.

I choked once. "Yeah, I thought so too."

"We'll talk about that later, right now_–_" Rick stated, right as he stomped his foot into the injured leg of a survivor, causing the man to yelp. "_– _We've got a problem to fix."

Rick glared with such hatred at the man. It was the one I first shot. I tried shooting him in the skull, but ended up hitting him square in the jaw. Maybe that was the better choice to do anyway. It looked very painful and this man deserved to die painfully. Rick knelt down beside the man, his blue eyes suppressing his rage as best as possible. "You tried to rape my wife, you son of a bitch." hissed Rick.

"And Andrea." added T-Dog.

"I say we blow these fuckers heads off!" yelled Daryl.

I crossed my arms. "For once, I agree."

Rick stood up, removing his foot from the injured bandit's leg. "I would be all for that too, but we are better than these men. These..._monsters,"_ Rick explained. "Our gunfire also brought us company."

There were loud moans as we saw a couple of walkers stumbled through the bushes. T-Dog restrained Walker from going after the undead. A couple of faster walkers quickly approached us. Daryl quickly dispatched them with a knife he stole from the bandits. "We'll leave you and your surviving buddies in the hands of the walkers. They'll decide what's best for you." Rick finished, then turning to the three of us. "Quickly, grab their weapons and let's move out before any more walkers come!"

I quickly grabbed the two shotguns laying on the ground. Everyone else scrambled to pick up their weapons before getting the hell out. T-Dog ripped a duffle bag from a dead bandit. We all ran off into the bushes, though I noticed Rick hid behind a tree. He watched as a walker tore into the flesh of the bandit who tried to rape Lori. Soon, more joined in, and the bandit's screams were cut off-along with his head. Those walkers sure were strong. The other man tried crawling away, but the walkers got to him. A cluster of them began feasting on the living and the now dead bodies of the bandits. "Rick! Let's go! Justice has been served! Now let's get the hell outta here!" said Shane in a raspy low voice. The four of us ran up the steep hill with Walker in the lead. The mutt was so strong that he helped an exhausted T-Dog up the hill.

The moment we reached the hill, Lori threw her arms around Rick. Their son Carl joined in the family hug.

"I didn't think we'd make it out of there alive." Lori breathed.

The moans and incoherent yelling of the walkers drew closer. I counted about ten walkers, more coming up from down the streets. Sky rushed into my arms. "Hey," I said to her. "I'm glad you're okay."

She smiled up at me, the first time I had seen her show emotion since finding her at my cabin. Sophia tugged on her mother's shit. "Is that really Anza?"

Carol grabbed her hand, leading her to the car. "There's no time for that! We need to get out of here!"

"Get in the cars and let's go!" Shane yelled to all of us. I could hear the cars starting up. The RV drove swiftly past me, slightly tilting as it did so. Rick's car and my jeep Wagoneer driven by Glenn followed in close pursuit. I noticed Daryl trying to get his pick up truck to work to no avail. The walkers were closing in on him. Sky got into the truck, waiting patiently for us in this crisis.

"Come on, Daryl!" I hollered to him.

"Give me a minute, do something about those walkers, will ya?" he shouted back.

I had one bullet left and a nail file. I could tell that Daryl didn't want to leave his motorcycle and other equipment behind. I sighed, running towards the walkers with no fear. Only determination. Luckily, they were spread out, so that would make them easier to take down. I stabbed a walker in the neck before gouging its rotten eye out. Walker ran forth and attacked a walker, his teeth scrapping the skull of the monster.

One by one I slashed through the walkers with just a nail file. My hand was covered in blood of the walkers. They began to cluster towards me now that I had gotten their attention. I couldn't hold them off much longer. Walker got pinned down by a walker and began yelping as its sharp claws raked his stomach. I quickly shot the walker in the head before it could tear Walker apart. The wolfdog quickly got up and darted for my truck with a slight limp.

Daryl's pick up still wouldn't start. Plus, his wind shield was completely destroyed with glass all over the seats. _"Fuck!"_ Daryl cursed aloud, ignoring the fact that I was getting ganged up on by the walkers. There had to be fifteen now, only a few feet away from me. "Daryl, there's no time!" I exclaimed, grabbing one of his muscled arm.

"I have all of my stuff and my motorcycle here!" Daryl protested.

"None of it's going to matter if we're both dead!" I argued. "Now, come on! There's too many of them!"

_"For Fuck's sake!"_ Daryl shouted, grabbing his crossbow and dufflw bag from the back of his rusty red pick up. We both made a run for it for the other shitty pick up truck that was mine. Walker hopped into the back seat of the truck. I scurried to the driver's seat, pulling out the car keys while Daryl jumped into the passenger seat. I rolled up the window as more walkers approached. They all began banging against the glass and side of the car. I could hear Walker whimper once behind me. Even he knew how much trouble we were in.

I started up the truck and instantly slammed on the gas. Immediately, the truck jolted forward, pushing past all of the walkers and running over a few. There weren't too many so escape was easy. We were free and back on the street. Me and Daryl sighed with relief. The walkers quickly fell behind as I sped away in the truck.

When everything had gotten calm, being safe and all, that was when Daryl turned to me with astonishment. "Are you really alive?" he asked.

_"No..."_ I answered with sarcasm. "I'm a ghost."

"Okay, smartass, enough with the jokes." Daryl replied, not at all amused. "You really survived being bitten? We watched you die."

"You watched me dying, but I don't think I ever died."

My eyes focused solely on the road. We soon caught up with the other group, they had come to a stop to wait for us. It still wasn't safe though. A couple of walkers heard the noise and stumbled onto the street. When they saw us behind them, that was when they began driving again. They knew we were safe now. It was quiet and peaceful for about twenty minutes as we drove. It was as if the walkers didn't exist. But, the silence was killing me.

Finally, Daryl said something.

"Ugh, my fucking motorcycle." he complained. "And all of my stuff."

"You can have the Yamasaki I found and your supplies are easily replaceable. Now stop whining, you big baby." I snorted.

Daryl sneered at that, not appreciative of my tone. After about another twenty minutes, we reached the outskirts. The RV and the two other cars pulled over. We were safe from any walkers. For now. That was when everyone got out of the vehicles to see me. How could I even be alive? They were all crowded around me. Sky and Sophia emerged from my Wagoneer and ran towards me. The two children wrapped their arms around me, squeezing me tight. Glenn joined in and gave me a big hug around my neck.

"Girl, you really alive?" Jacqui asked.

"Yep." I answered. "At least I think so."

Even I wasn't too sure.

The men watched from a few yards away, giving me space as I reunited one by one with all of them. Lori and Jacqui were beyond relieved that I was still alive. Carol patted me on the back. "Well, I'm glad you're not dead." she smiled. "You got bitten to save my Sophia."

"And you saved us just now." Sophia added.

I smiled once at her. "Anytime."

Daryl scoffed, walking past me. _"My hero."_

I rolled my eyes at him. That was when I noticed that Andrea was standing beside Shane. She didn't look as happy, not that she was upset to see me or anything. Andrea just looked sad in general now. I expected to see her much younger sister Amy pop out from behind her. Her laugh and cheerfulness was something I enjoyed. But, she was nowhere to be found. Amy was one with the dead.

Shane stepped forward. "So, you survived being bitten. But, we still don't know if you're contagious, so I'd suggest you be careful around everyone." he explained, before walking back to his car. Jacqui looked excited. "Anza survived. Maybe now there's a chance for a cure."

"That's what I was hoping for," I added. "The CDC will really need me."

Rick smiled. "Then, let's go."

We all headed back to our cars. Daryl nudged me on the shoulder. _"Would you please rescue me, Anza?"_ he mocked in a patronizing yet playful tone. _"Anza, you're so amazing! You're my hero! Can I get your autograph?"_

I slapped him lightly on his muscled arm. "Shut up." I snapped. This Dixon really knew how to get on my nerves and annoy me. With his mission accomplished, that made Daryl grin. The three of us sat cozily in the pick up truck while I followed behind Dale's RV. I glanced once at the large bite mark on my neck. The blood had dried to black. I was just hoping the entire time that a cure could be made from this.


	9. The Worth of a Soul

I slowly woke up to the roar of the pick up truck. My head was leaning against someone's shoulders. I realized that it was Daryl's shoulder. He looked down at me with a smirk. "Rise and shine, dearest pie."

"Ewww!" I exclaimed, instantly scooting away from him. That made Daryl chuckle loudly. Did I seriously fall asleep on Daryl's sweaty shoulder? Sky was sitting in the window seat, staring out at the landscape beside us. I had driven about fifty miles before letting Daryl take over driving. It was pitch black dark last night and I was tired. Sky tossed the heavy blanket over to me. I noticed a cigarette in between Daryl's lips. "Thanks for the alcohol and cigarettes though, sugar." he stated. "I'm gonna need that after spending twenty-four hours in a truck with you."

"Those are mine!" I snapped, grabbing the pint of Jagermeister from his side. "And you're not supposed to drink and drive! I don't care if law and order is thrown out the window! It's still dangerous!"

Daryl scoffed at that. "I'm not that stupid, kid. You shouldn't even be drinking that anyway. You're fifteen."

_"Fifteen? _I am twenty-two years old!" I shouted into his ear. Now, I was offended. I had been called out for looking younger than my age, but_ never_ fifteen.

He didn't flinch from my yelling. "Whatever."

Immediately I dug into my backpack and pulled out my ragged wallet. I pulled out my old driver's licence and tossed into his lap. After a few moments, Daryl picked it up to examine it. "Esperanza Alexandra Cruz? Born 1989," Daryl read. "Well, guess ya really are twenty-two."

I noticed the cap on the Jagermeister was still screwed on tight. I offered Sky the first volume of my Dragonball Z book. The only manga I did bring along. She gently took it before skimming through the pages once. After about ten minutes, I noticed Sky reading it intently. We followed closely behind Dale's RV. I could see the skyline of the outskirts of Atlanta. The CDC was near the middle of the city, right where all the thousands of walkers were. "We're here." Daryl muttered under his breath. "How do I know that? Because of this God awful smell."

That was when I smelled it. "Augh!" I exclaimed, covering my nose and mouth with my hand. Sky instantly dropped the manga. She buried her face in her sleeves. Daryl's face cringed with disgust. He quickly rolled up the window. There were bodies littered across the road and sidewalks.

The smell of death filled the air.

Walker barked a few times from the truck. I wonder how the poor animal was dealing with this disgusting smell. His nose was a thousand times more precise than ours. He was circling around wildly in the back. I was just hoping he would remain quiet, I really did not need him barking and alerting all the other walkers. We needed to get to the CDC. I wanted to help create a cure, and I knew Walker might be able to help with that too.

We parked the cars in front of a huge building with wide glass windows. The windows were sealed by metal doors. I noticed how unscathed it was from the rest of the outside world. All the buildings in Atlanta were basically trashed. There were also burn marks on the sides of some of the buildings, were the military dropped the bombs.

I gagged as we exited the cars. The stench was unbearable. Daryl whistled for Walker, who hopped out of the back of the rusty pick up. Daryl led me and Sky through the bodies all scattered across the street and lawn. Walker quickly darted through the bodies. He probably didn't want to smell them any longer. T-Dog quickly held onto Walker by the collar when he approached the group. Swarms of flies buzzed all around us when we drew near. The bodies looked like they had been there a long time. The green skin was rotting with the bones clearly visible. Some of them were covered in white body bags, but I could see traces of blood all of them. I could feel my stomach tighten. It got better when we reached the doors of the CDC.

Rick and Shane were trying to get the door open. Walker turned his head, he instantly bared his teeth and began growling. He wasn't the only one. A couple of walkers stumbled towards us. T-Dog had to use all of his strength to prevent Walker from running after the walkers. "Shut that thing up!" snapped Shane.

I quickly clasped my hands around Walker's muzzle. I could still hear low growls erupting in Walker's throat. That was when the group started to panic and get on the defensive. Sophia and Sky hid behind Carol as two walkers approached. I pulled out my nail file, quickly dispatching the walkers with little effort. They fell at my feet, stabbed into a bloody pulp. "Keep trying to get the door open!" I said in a higher voice. "I'll hold them off!"

"I'll help you," Daryl offered, shooting an arrow at a walker that was too close to me.

"Rick, we have to get out of here!" Lori yelled at her husband, frantic.

"Someone's in there!" Rick screamed back. He was only bringing more of them in with his screams. It was getting darker too so it was getting harder to see most of the walkers. I didn't know how long we stood there fighting for. Maybe a couple of hours. Some walkers were slow, which were easy to take down. Others were fast, which made it a little more difficult to kill. I was just happy that the walkers were spaced out. If they were in a group, we were fucked, which was what they were starting to do.

"You're killing us!" Rick was screaming at the camera. "You're killing us!"

"No, _you're_ killing us!" I shouted, finally having enough of this. "You're screaming is attracting every walker in Atlanta!"

"Says the one who is also screaming." Daryl pointed out.

Before we could argue any further, we were blinding by a light. The metal door was sliding open. We all froze with shock at the now open door. That was when I bolted inside. The entire quickly followed. Our footsteps echoed throughout the building. Right away, I noticed how absolutely spotless the CDC was. It also smelled really nice too. I wondered how a place could be so clean and not in ruin since the outbreak.

I turned to my side, only to jump back startled. The barrel of a shotgun was pointed at my face. "What do you want?" the blond man holding the gun. He looked to be in his mid or late forties. Daryl instantly stood in front of me, his crossbow aimed at the man.

Rick stepped forward. "A chance." He said, breathless from all the screaming and pounding against the metal door for hours he was doing.

"That's asking a lot these days." The man answered, taking a step closer. "Are any of you infected?"

That was when we were all silent. Half the group instantly had their eyes on me. I had intended to come to the CDC to help give a cure, but maybe telling this man wouldn't be as easy as I thought. Daryl looked at me with worry. I was hoping the man didn't notice this, but unfortunately he did. His eyes were focused on me. "You there, next to the man with the crossbow. How did you get that wound on your neck?" he inquired.

My hand instantly reached for the bite mark. Shit, I forgot to cover it up. This man was very observant. "I was bitten." I croaked. We all waited for the man's reaction. None of us were sure how this was going to turn out. The man nodded once. Before he could say anything, I stepped out from behind the group. I bumped through Jacqui and Carl. "But, I survived." I interjected.

The man narrowed his eyes. "You survived?"

"Yes, I was bitten more than a week ago. I had the fever and everything. I thought I had died. But, I didn't. I woke up and I was fine. That was a day ago." I said as hastily as I could, also turning to Walker. "My dog bit into a couple of walkers that same day, and he's just fine. I came here because I wanted to help create a cure."

I had to rush this out as fast as I could. I didn't want this man jumping the gun the moment I told him I had been bitten, literally. The man looked at me with interest. "How do I know you're not lying?" he asked. "I can't have you contaminating this site."

I pulled down the side of my shirt, giving him full view of the large gouging bite mark in the side of my neck. "People are turned into a walker within twenty four hours. This bite is scabbed and starting to heal." I pointed out.

The man stared heavily at the wound. We could only stand there to see if he would believe us. My bite was starting to heal, it was still crusty with darkened blood and scabs. But, you could clearly tell it was healing. The man slowly lowered his weapon, something that relieved me immensely. He believed us. Daryl and the others lowered their weapons. "We won't know for sure until we reach my lab. But, I can't pass up the opportunity of meeting someone immune to the disease. The rest of you will all need to take a blood test if you want to stay here. No infected are allowed." Rick automatically agreed. The man hesitated once. "If you want to leave, this is your last chance. Once those doors close, they won't open again."

We agreed again, picking up our bags of stuff before rushed inside the elevator. The man introduced himself as Dr. Edwin Jenner. The group sort of formed a line before getting their blood drawn. I was leaned up against the wall away from the group. I was the disease. I couldn't help but feel different. "Anza, you said your name was?" Dr. Jenner asked.

I was snapped out of my daze. "Huh? Yeah?"

"I'd like to take a blood sample from you."

"You already know I got bit."

"Yes, but I want to know if you're infected or not."

I sat down beside him. He pulled out a needle from the bag. "Haven't I clearly shown I'm not?" I asked, pointing to the scabbed wound. Dr. Jenner wiped my inner arm with a cleaning wipe. "Nope." He plainly answered. "There are many things I don't know. You may be infected but turning slower, you could be an asymptomatic carrier, you could be immune, you could be many things. I want to find out."

"Oh." I muttered, feeling completely stupid afterwards. I didn't flinch at all when Dr. Jenner inserted the needle into my arm. I was used to getting poked with needles. I got tested so many times in prison to see if I had been taking drugs, I also had done a few rounds of heroin before. I noticed Daryl watching me with a weird expression. He looked away when he noticed that I saw him. I watched as the vial was filled with a darkest red liquid that was my blood.

The key to curing us all.

* * *

I was separated from the others. Dr. Jenner didn't want me to take any chances of possibly infecting the others. Even though I knew that if I was infected, I would have to share blood or saliva with the group to infect them. But, I just did as he was told. I was led into a tiny twelve by twelve room that was practically a glass box. The walls were all clear glass. Though Dr. Jenner told me that they were strong enough to take dozens of rounds from gunfire. There was only a hospital bed with white blankets and sheets. This was the quarantine room. Dr. Jenner led my wolfdog Walker into the glass box beside me. I noticed he was wearing latex gloves. Then he pushed a button, a glass door sliding closed. Walker panted a few times, before turning to me and whimpering. I could barely hear him. I frowned once, at least I knew I wasn't the only one in this.

After an hour, Dr. Jenner returned to my quarantine room. I sat up immediately, eager to know what Dr. Jenner had to say. "I just finished doing the basic blood samples. No one in your group is infected. As for your own, you aren't infected. Neither is your dog." Dr. Jenner stated. "So, you're out of the woods on that one."

I gave a heavy sigh in relief, collapsing back on the bed.

"I tested some of your blood with infected cells. Your immune system killed the cells." continued Dr. Jenner. "So, I'm at least glad you're not a asymptomatic carrier. That would complicate things."

"What's a asympotatablab whatever carrier?" I asked. I had no idea how to pronounce it, but only ended up sounding uneducated and stupid.

"A asymptomatic carrier is a person carrying a virus or disease in the body, but show no symptoms of the virus or disease. But, they're still infected and have same potential to spread the virus or disease to other people." he explained, sounding incredibly intelligent when he said that. This man knew what the hell he was talking about. But, I'm glad that I wasn't what Dr. Jenner just explained. I was truly immune to the disease. "I'm going to run more tests on you and your dog's blood, it's safe for you to mingle with your friends." Dr. Jenner stated. "I will need to conduct more tests on you though, if you are willing to help me find a cure that is."

I stammered once, speechless. "O-Of course. That's what I came here for." I answered. Dr. Jenner nodded at me. While I walked away, I noticed him pull out a photograph and talk to it. That was the first time I had seen him smile.

When I arrived at the quarters, Jacqui and Lori immediately greeted me with hugs, followed by Carol, Sophia, Carl, and Sky. I did my secret handshake with Glenn. Apparently, Dr. Jenner had already told them what he had just told me. So, they knew what I was too. "It's so great, dog, you're immune to them walkers." T-Dog sighed, in his sassy voice. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not immune to getting my neck ripped out though." I admitted, pulling out a box of saltine crackers and orange juice. I greedily scarfed them all down. Walker wasn't allowed to be in the compound since he wasn't potty trained. I hated having him locked up in that room. But, I agreed to clean up whenever Walker went to the bathroom in the room. I just hoped it didn't stink. At least not as bad as the dead bodies stacked outside the CDC.

I sat in the lounge with the kids playing Monopoly with them at the glass coffee table. Sophia kept getting upset over not having as much money as me, Carl or Sky, so since I was the banker, I would "accidentally" drop a five-hundred or a one-hundred on the ground.

"Sophia, you dropped your money."

She looked at her feet. "Oh, yes I did!"

Carl wasn't fooled at all. "No, I saw you drop that, you cheater!"

We all started laughing, including some of the ladies who overheard us. Sky didn't say anything or emit any emotion. I knew Sky had seen me cheat a few times. But, she still didn't talk. Sky had managed to play the game without talking. I wondered when she would talk or smile again. Andrea looked like she could join Sky in that department. She was sitting by herself in the corner. I saw no life in her face or eyes.

I noticed that Daryl was watching me from the table in the lounge. I quickly turned away. He had been acting so strange towards me since I came back. Maybe it was because the shock of me not being dead was still hard to accept. But, I had a feeling that wasn't the case.

When I was alone in the hallway, I heard footsteps after me. "You okay, Anza?" Daryl's voice asked.

I turned around, pushing my wavy darkest brown hair out of my face. "Yeah, why?"

"Nothin'," he instantly said, before hesitating. His deep blue eyes pierced into mine. "You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want too."

"Do what?"

"Create a cure."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why wouldn't I want too? A cure, Daryl, come on! The world would be saved and we could then focus on getting back to normal!"

Daryl scoffed at me when I said 'normal', like it was impossible to happen. "And how do we know you'll survive this process?" Daryl inquired, folding his toned arms across his chest. I hadn't thought of that when Daryl told me. But, neither did I care.

I looked into his eyes and said plainly, "I don't care if I don't survive. One life means nothing compared to the billions out there."

"Don't use 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' argument."

Now, I was angry, and even more confused. I didn't understand why he was saying this. I thought Daryl would've been the first to say that I should do this. He always treated me like life meant nothing. The hypocrisy infuriated me.

"Why not? It's true! Even you believe that!" I snapped, lightly pushing him on his chest. Daryl narrowed his eyes, but he didn't glare at me. He seemed shock by my outburst. "What? That's not true!" he objected.

"Wrong! That's the _only_ logic you live by. You didn't hesitate to try and kill me when I was first infected." Now I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. I paused for a moment, I was going to cry if I didn't calm down. "You _always _weigh the lives of others over the life of one. You don't care if you kill your own friend just as long as the others survive!"

I could see the shock and maybe even guilt form on his face. That was the first time I thought that Daryl could regret anything he did. Maybe he only regretted it since he was losing this argument. I turned my back on him before stubbornly crossing my arms. "Don't worry, I don't blame you though. Your reaction makes perfect sense. Chop off the infected limb before it infects the rest of the body." I explained, before pausing again. "I will live how I want to."

I gaze back at him. His eyes reluctantly met mine.

"Or die how I want to."


	10. Savages

I couldn't believe this. I had volunteered my life to create a cure. I went willingly to these people and yet they still had to chain me up like I was going to run away. Now, I sat in the compound of a cozy helicopter with my hands on my lap, restrained by metal cuffs. I was lamb to the slaughter. Awaiting for my timely death. My kindness taken advantage of. They didn't care about me, only themselves. I glared at Colonel William Wagner, who sat across from me. He was calmly reading an outdated magazine.

Savages.

I had seen walkers act more humane than these men. The helicopter glided smoothly over the city before flying over the forest. I looked at the clear glass window to see if we were anywhere near the campsite. I couldn't see the campsite, but I did see the open clearing where Jim dug those graves. Including his own.

All those good people dead, yet I was creating a cure for these bad people. I no longer wanted to give them a cure. I didn't care about the outside world anymore. If I could, I would've returned to Daryl and my group. I wanted to live. I wanted to live with them, these people who were like a family to me now. Now, they were dead.

And it was all my fault.

"That's a transportation helicopter, not a military one, so it's not going to have a radar," explained Daryl through his headset. "Which means we have the element of surprise."

"That's great, but how are we supposed to rescue Anza from the helicopter without shooting it down?" Rick asked, in a calm voice. He was definitely more calm than the fuming Shane. "And I don't think there's a way to force that helicopter to land unless it crashes."

Daryl was silent on that one. The helicopter was in his sights. It was only a hundred yards away or so. Daryl kept the military helicopter he was flying at a safe distance. If they were discovered, they were fucked. Daryl, Rick, and Shane didn't know if the military had back up. When the government fell, so did the military. But, they had enough strength to send these people. Daryl thought deeply. Then, he spoke. "I have an idea. I'm going to pull the helicopter close, when that happens, Rick will open the passenger door to the other helicopter since those transportation helicopters don't have a lock, and grab Anza." Daryl explained. "Shane, you will cover Rick with your handgun. Those men are armed."

"That sounds complicated," Rick sighed, hanging onto the side of the helicopter.

Shane scoffed at that. _"Way_ too complicated, I am not fucking Jason Stathom, Daryl. This is reality, not the movies."

"We live in a world filled with the undead walk!" Daryl retorted. "So yes, we fucking can do this!"

Shane groaned once, pulling out his rifle. He checked to see how many rounds he had. Rick quickly tied a rope attached to the pulley to the brown leather belt around his waist. Shane pressed the button on the side of the headset. "You're going to have to keep the helicopter steady if I'm to aim properly." Shane added. "And you're going to have to get in close enough without hitting the other heli's propeller blades."

"I know, just do your job and I'll do mine."

I exhaled softly through my nose, leaning back on the comfy chair of the helicopter. The colonel tossed the outdated Time magazine on the small coffee table. "Creating the cure will be easy, but rebuilding this country and the world." Wagner sighed. "That's the tough part."

"You guys are pieces of shit, you know that right?" I asked, crossing my legs. I couldn't cross my arms because of the handcuffs. "You would fit in perfectly with the herds because you look, talk, and act like a fucking zombie. You did the most retarded thing by killing my friends and kidnapping me when I was willing to sacrifice myself for a cure."

Wagner and his two soldiers that sat on each side of him chuckled to themselves. I looked back towards the window. My eyes slowly widened. A helicopter was pulling in towards us, I saw Rick and Shane in the hanger. They were alive?! They were here to rescue me!

"You're a criminal, Esperanza Cruz," Wagner stated. "We couldn't take any chances. Besides, we did you and your friends a favor. You tasted this new world. It tastes terrible, don't it?"

I saw Shane place the rifle against his armpit, taking aim at one of the men inside our helicopter. I turned my head to the colonel. "The only thing that's going to taste worst is the blood on your mouth."

The colonel looked at me with a confused look. Then, there was a loud splitting sound as the window to the helicopter shattered. The colonel yelped once, immediately leaping to his feet. He had been shot in the shoulder. The howling wind and piercing sounds of the propellers filled the inside of the helicopter. With the air pressure rapidly dropping, the helicopter began violently shaking and leaning adjacently to several sides. One of Wagner's men beside him tried reaching for his gun to shoot Shane, but lost his balance. The man was shot in the chest. I slammed against the passenger door. Then I tried unlocking it. The door swung wide open as the helicopter jerked violently. I saw a glimpse of the forest, almost falling out of the copter.

Then, I saw Rick leaning out on the side of the helicopter. He was a couple yards away. I could see that he clearly intended to get close to grab me. I tried reaching out, but I knew it was hopeless. He was too far away.

"Lean in closer!" Rick hollered.

"I can't!" Daryl yelled into the headset. "The propellers will collide and we'll all crash if I do."

Rick growled once to himself. I looked down at the evergreen trees ever passing by so swiftly. They were a smudge of dark green. I suddenly felt a powerful hand grab my bare forearm. I was jerked around. Wagner had his teeth gritted, his eyes ablaze with anger. "You aren't going anywhere, little girl!" the colonel shouted, trying to pull me back into the helicopter.

I decided to jump, with or without the colonel. There was no other choice. I also knew that the trees would likely catch me before I hit the ground. Though it wasn't going to exactly be very comfy. I used all my weight to pull against the colonel. We both tumbled out of the helicopter. I could hear Rick scream for me. The cold wind pierced my entire body as I fell. I covered my face as I saw that I was diving head first into an evergreen tree. I smashed through a bunch of twigs and small branches, which cushioned most of my fall. I had scrapes and cuts covering every inch of my body. I could feel it. When I reached the mid section of the tree, that was when I really felt the blunt landing. That was where all the stronger branches where. My stomach was slammed into one, knocking the wind out of me. When my crash landing was over, I was left dangling over a branch. I coughed a few times before looking down. I was probably thirty feet in the air now. The branches of the Douglas Fir tree I was in didn't reach that far to the ground. I would still probably break my ankles if I jumped from the lowest branch.

I swung my leg over the branch, then slowly crawled towards the trunk. My arms as well as the front of my shirt and shorts were covered with sticky tree sap. I clung to the Douglas Fir while I waited for rescue. There was a loud snap and I heard a loud cry. I looked below to see Colonel Wagner fall from the tree he landed in and fall about twenty feet. He grunted loudly when he hit the ground. Bastard deserved it.

It didn't end there.

I noticed a couple of walkers that were roaming nearby stumble towards Wagner. I sat against the trunk of the Douglas Fir, before grinning to myself. "The new world tastes bad, eh?" I hollered, loudly. The two walkers looked around stupidly to see where the noise came from. They couldn't find me, the tree camouflaged me perfectly. I could see that it tormented Wagner too to not know where I was. A walker knelt down and bit into Wagner's leg. He let out the most unmanly scream I ever heard of.

"Well, you sure taste good to those walkers!" I then hollered to him.

I observed with a smile as the walkers slowly devoured Wagner. They took their sweet ass time eating him and keeping him alive at the same time. It was good. This man who killed Jacqui and almost killed me and my friends deserved this painful death. Wagner stopped screaming after the walkers pulled out his intestines, eating the ropes of his own flesh in front of him. It was either the shock of watching himself be a course dinner or the pain and blood loss that killed him. All I could say was that it was a death well deserved.

I waited in the tree for about thirty to forty minutes. Rick saw me fall out of the helicopter, he must of known that maybe I survived the fall. I just hoped they were coming to look for me out in the forest. I couldn't jump out of the tree with those two walkers nearby. I was for sure going to break both of my legs if I jumped out anyway. That was when my cell phone fell out of my pocket. It seemed to fall on every branch before hitting the ground. "Shit!" I cursed to myself.

The two walkers head's snapped up from what was originally Colonel William Wagner. They dragged their feet across the ground as they made way towards my phone. I was just hoping and praying that they wouldn't see me up on the tree. One of the walkers growled as it gocked at my phone. I was also hoping that they didn't try eating it. That phone had my father's dying words on it. It contained his voice, something I wished to hear everyday since he wasn't here to guide me. There was a loud shotgun blast.

The walker was hit square in the face. The other walker looked up and charged in the direction of the blast, only to get hit in the face as well. It collapsed lifelessly to the ground. "Daryl, don't do that, you're going to attract walkers." I could heard the faint voice of Rick say.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just grabbed the damn girl!" I heard Daryl in a loud and clear voice.

They began arguing until I whistled loudly. Rick, Daryl, and Shane's heads turned in every direction, wondering where that whistle came from. "Guys, I'm up here!" I hollered below. I waved once at them. Rick exhaled with relief. "Are you okay, Anza?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a shit ton of scraps and bruises though."

"Alright, well climb down a little further. When you're close enough, Daryl will catch you." Shane stated. Daryl gave him an exasperated look. "What?"

"Okay!" I said back, getting off the sappy tree branch. I carefully slithered down the tree trunk and the branches as best as I could. They were starting to get weaker and thinner the closer to ground I got. I was maybe twenty feet in the air when the branch holding me up snapped in half. I shrieked loudly as I fell once again.

Daryl darted towards me with open arms. I slammed into him and he crashed into the ground. I heard him grunt loudly. Pain shot up from my stomach and all of my sides. Though it didn't hurt as much as it would've if Daryl had not caught my fault. I gasped once, sitting upright on top of him. "Daryl!" I exclaimed. "You..."

"Get offa me, girl." he groaned.

Rick and Shane grabbed my arms, lifting me to my feet. "You okay, Daryl?" Rick asked.

"Got tackled by a hundred and ten pound girl." Daryl croaked in a scratchy voice like he had eaten a porcupine. "Never better."

After giving Daryl a few moments to lie down on the ground, he stumbled to his feet. He placed his hands on his knees while he breathed deeply. Daryl spat on the ground. "Are...are you going to be okay?" I asked, worriedly.

Daryl raised his arm once. "Don't worry about it, cupcake," he stated. "You're safe, that's all that matters."

I was stunned. These people went so far to save me. I never had that before. Daryl didn't hesitate to save me either. This world wasn't all filled with bad people like Wagner. There were people worth saving and dying for. The entire group, including Daryl Dixon, all were.


	11. A Dying Wish, A Dying Hope

Daryl had my arm wrapped around his shoulders, clinging tight to my wrist, as he helped me walk through the CDC. There were a couple of gunshots as Rick and Shane dealt with a couple of walkers in our way. They quickly sealed the metal tight doors. I continued to limp alongside Daryl. It was a little hard to keep up with him. "C'mon, we gotta keep moving." Daryl said in his Southern accent.

"Oh yeah, I only fell out of a helicopter and crashed into a tree." I replied sarcastically.

We reached the computer room inside the CDC. I held my breath as I saw that everyone was still there. Still alive. I saw the dead soldiers on the ground. They killed them. I was never ceased to be amazed by how powerful our group was. But, my heart sank when I saw Jacqui. Her body was still lying on the floor. The hole in between her eyes. There was a large pool of blood all over the floor. Jacqui's body bathed in it. Then, I saw Sky on the ground. She was in Lori's arms as Dale and Glenn tended to her. I noticed the side of her shirt was covered in blood. "Sky!" I cried out, darting to her, forcing Daryl to let go of me. I didn't care how sore my body was, I ignored the stinging pains for her.

I placed my hand on the side of Sky's face. "Her face is so pale," I breathed, utterly horrified. Sky's eyes were shut but I could see her chest falling and rising. She was still alive. "Dale managed to get the bullet out, it doesn't look to be too bad." Lori stated. "The bullet was tiny and hit her in the collarbone, which probably saved her life."

"Yeah, but she probably has broken her collarbone so she won't be moving around for awhile." Dale added.

I wiped away the tears forming in my eyes. "This is all my fault." I croaked. I felt Daryl lift me up to my feet, his hand gently holding onto my arm. "This ain't your fault, Anza. The one to blame is the dirty fuckin' government." Daryl said, spitting on the ground. "Shoulda known not to trust those fuckers."

"Anza..." I heard the weak voice of Jenner say. I turned to see him sitting against the desk. His skin was pale, his eyes were weak, and blood blossomed across his nice shirt from the gunshot wound. Jenner was still alive, though I'm sure he wouldn't be for long. I approached him. Glenn sat beside Jenner, placing a rag over his heart. It was soaked with blood. Rick, Shane, and Daryl stood beside me as I knelt before the dying doctor. "I'm so...sorry, Anza Cruz..." he breathed. "I didn't...want this...I'm a doctor...I...save lives you know? But...I never expected them...to do this...I'm sorry...about your friend Jacqui..."

I didn't say anything, I looked down at the floor. Unable to meet the doctor's gaze. "I know. don't know if I can give a cure at this point, I don't think this world is worth saving anymore." I admitted, shamefully.

"There are good people...worth saving..." the doctor said in between raspy breathes.

"Is that why you stayed to create a cure? When the others didn't?"

Jenner hesitated, sweat forming on is brow. "No...I stayed...because it was TS-19's dying wish..." he answered. "...My wife."

My eyes widened with sorrow. "She was your wife?"

Jenner pulled out a photograph from the right side of his shirt, which was unstained with blood. It was the photograph I had seen him look at when I first arrived her. The photo trembled in Jenner's hand. I didn't know if it was from the blood loss or utter sorrow. "Candace...why did it have to be you?...she was a genius, you know? The Einstein of this place...yet she got bit...and the plain Dr. Jenner, just some doctor, had to find a cure...I know Candy would have fixed this..." Jenner rambled on. He began coughing violently. It sounded like he was choking on something. His own blood being stuck in his throat. It was horrific to listen and watch. Jenner coughed up a fountain of dark red blood. Jenner began clearing his throat as best as he could. I could see him clutching his chest though, it hurt to do so. He handed Glenn a key. "Listen, I need you...to push that into the keyhole...on the computer...and push the red button..." he said.

Glenn nodded immediately, getting up to do so. He turned the key.

"What's it do?" Daryl asked.

Jenner looked up to Daryl. "The self destruct button."

We all tensed up. Sophia clung tightly to Walker, who whimpered once. They must have freed him when I was gone. Suddenly, there were red flashing lights. I noticed the clock on the wall start doing a countdown from five minutes. "You guys better...get out of here...while you still can." Jenner said in a loud voice, using all his strength. "They'll be sending military forces to find your girl here."

"C'mon, let's move it people!" Daryl then shouted. T-Dog picked up the unconsious and bleeding Sky. Rick rushed out of the room with Lori and Carl, Carol and Sophia followed quickly behind. I saw Andrea kneel beside's Jacqui's body and place her cross necklace across her neck. She looked up at me. We said nothing.

Four minutes.

Everyone quickly scrambled to get out of the CDC. Dale had to convince Andrea to leave, apparently she wanted to kill herself. Only he guilt tripped her into coming with or else Dale would die too.

Two minutes.

I was holding onto Jenner's hand. His breathing became less steady. "You should...go..." he mumbled. So close to death. "I know, I just...don't want you to be alone." I answered.

"I'm not alone..." he smiled, looking down at the photograph of him and his wife Candace. They looked so happy in the photos. Jenner did too, even as he lay here dying.

One minute.

Daryl rushed back into the computer room. "Anza, what the hell? Come on, we've gotta go!" he shouted at me. I slowly turned to get up, before I did, Jenner grabbed me and pulled me closer to him. He whispered something in my ears. My eyes widened with horror at what he told me. Jenner then released me. "Now go." he croaked.

I stepped away, taking one last look at the doctor, before Daryl grabbed my hand. We both bolted out of the CDC. When I was starting to fall behind him, my sore body acting up, he snapped at me to keep going.

Four.

We both booked it when we reached the door to the CDC.

Three.

Me and Daryl spotted a barricade made of bags of sand.

Two.

I dove for the barricade, hiding behind it. I felt Daryl place himself right up against me. He shielded my face with his strong arms.

One.

The ground shook violently as an explosion of fire flew directly over us. Daryl pressed me tightly against his body, his face pressed against my neck. When it was over, Daryl slowly got off of me. He helped me to my feet. The CDC was now in a fiery ruin. Jacqui and Jenner were gone. I inhaled, breathing in the smoke and smell of death. "You okay?" Daryl asked.

I looked at him, both of us making eye contact. "I...I think so."

When I turned around, my legs collapsed underneath me and I blacked out. Last thing I heard was Daryl shouting my name.

**Sorry this chapter was so short, I consider the next chapter to be the start of Season 2 and didn't want to combine it here.**


	12. Never Going Back

The group was smaller now. We lost so many people on this journey, I wondered who was next. I thought that if I gave me life for the cure that no more people would have to die. But, now I know that isn't an option. The world is filled with dead people. The undead and the living make no difference to me now.

They're both out to kill you.

And that was why I wasn't going to help create a cure anymore.

Maybe the zombie apocalypse was just God's way of giving humanity the middle finger for all the terrible things we did. All that mattered now was the group I was now living with. We hardily knew each other, but we all faced the same darkness together. At the end of the day, that made us family.

"This looks like the place we were at." I stated, turning on the road. I sat in the driver's seat of my red jeep Wagoneer that Glenn gave back to me. I had the pleasure of Daryl in the passenger seat of my car. My body was still sore from the day before. It was covered with cuts, scrapes, and bruises. There was one particular gash on my leg covered by a gaus bandage. I could see some of the skin turning a sickening yellow and purplish colors from outside the bandage. "I still can't believe we're going back for your stupid truck and motorcycle, I said you could have the Yamasaki I found."

"I ain't leavin' Harley behind," Daryl stated stubbornly. "And sides', I still got some supplies I need there."

I frowned at him. _"Harley?_ Really? You named your motorcycle? What is this? Grade school?

"Shut the hell up, Anza."

I smirked as as a walker slammed into the side of my broken window. I just drove faster and quickly lost the walker. The streets were a little cleaner though there were still walkers everywhere. So, we were going to have to be quick. Occasionally, I'd get a walker or two that would run out in front of my car and get run over. I pulled up next to a small forest where Daryl and the group had been attacked by bandits. There, pressed up against a streetlight, was Daryl's shitty little truck. His trailer that held his Harley Davidson motorcycle and boxes of his stuff.

Alright, there's a couple of walkers coming closer." I stated. "Stick with the plan."

"Of course, ya dummy!" snorted Daryl, who was so impatient that he crawled out of the passenger window to get to his truck. I didn't question it as I stepped out of the Wagoneer. Daryl began to unhook the trailer from his wrecked pick up. I pulled out my father's hunting knife that I temporarily took back from the injured Sky.

There were probably about a dozen walkers headed my way. Luckily, they were all far apart so I wouldn't get overwhelmed by them. At least not yet. Most of the walkers gravitated slowly with their arms outstretched for me. Three walkers dashed for me screaming loudly. I stabbed one through the jaw into the brain, only for another one to jump up in front of me. It grabbed me and I quickly gouged it in the eye, causing it to gargle as it died for a second time. The walker fell down dead as another slammed into me. This one was definately stronger and looked to be newly turned, given the state of its clothing and body. I wrestled with this walker. It was snarling wildly at me as I looked into its dead amber eyes.

Eyes filled with hunger and aggression.

I slashed it across the neck three times. Blood splattering all over my neck and shirt. Daryl looked up occasionally to see how I was doing. He was moving the trailer away from his wrecked shit truck. "How we doin'?" Daryl yelled to me.

"Doing fine!" I hollered back back, running towards the other walkers to deal with them. Slash, slash, slash, and a pool of blood. My arms were starting to ache and get tired from all the slashing, stabbing, and constant movement to avoid being bitten or ripped to shreds. My hands were extremely sore from gripping the knife so hard. Would this bloodbath ever end? Would I always be fighting like this?

I knocked a walker back before stabbing him in the side of the head. It grumbled once with saliva gargling in its through, before collapsing to the ground. I pulled out the knife. Its infected blood splattered a few drops onto my face.

I was tired of fighting. I didn't know which was more exhausted from fighting, my mental state or my physical state. Both were equally tired of it.

I yanked the knife from the walker's cracked skull. It crumbled lifelessly to the ground. Daryl attached the trailer to my jeep and hollered to me. I quickly ran back as more walkers drew near. I climbed into the back seat of the car. I quickly pulled a towel from the back to sit on, so I didn't stain the seats with blood. "Ugh, I need a bath." I complained, doused with the blood of the undead. It smelled rotten and felt even nastier than freshly spilled blood of a human.

"Damn, girl. You're tougher than you look." Daryl said with a snicker.

"Told you I was in a gang," I snorted.

Daryl put the Wagoneer in reverse before switching back to drive and zooming off ahead. Daryl carefully drove through in between the walkers rushing towards us. We had to be more careful about crashing into walkers. Those things made some serious dents in cars. And since this was a bit of a nice car, I didn't want to risk having it break down. Although Daryl was good at avoiding the walkers for the most part, we still weren't out of the woods yet. We could still get into a car accident since Daryl was driving nearly seventy miles an hour in a suburban neighborhood where the speed limit was twenty. I guess that didn't matter now with the apocalypse. There was nobody to run over except for walkers.

The others were immensely annoyed that Daryl went back to get his trailor. I was one of them, but Daryl was going with or without their help. I went along because I felt that I owed it to Daryl to help him. In the end, it paid off. There was an awkward silence the way back.

Bored, I decided to see what music was stashed in the car. Ever since I had started driving the wagon, I didn't really bother to remove the shit from my neighbor Debbie's car. I looked at all of the albums she had stashed in the draw with disgust. It was mostly orchestra and piano music she had, as well as Beethoven.

I rolled down the window and tossed out all of the CD's. "Debbie, you listened to some real shit music."

Daryl snickered at that. He held onto the wheel with one hand before digging into the large pocket in his shirt. "Got these from ma truck," Daryl told me. "Way better than that shit you or ya neighbor listened too."

I looked up at him with a whimsical look on my face. I was annoyed but amused at the same time by his playful banter. "You don't know what music I like." I pointed out.

"Probably that pop and rap shit people used to listen to nowadays." Daryl guessed. "Nicki Garbaj, Miley Virus, Lady Caca..."

Nicki Garbaj? Miley Virus? I actually laughed aloud when he said that. That was actually pretty clever. Daryl turned to momentarily when I said that. I placed my arm near the window and looked to Daryl with amusement. "Wrong cowboy, I listen to mostly rock or tejano music."

"Tejano? I'm guessing that's Mexican music?"

_"Hispanic,"_ I reiterated. I hated it when people refereed to us as Mexicans. It just seemed so derogatory to me. "Selena was my favorite tejano singer."

"Yeah, that's real cool, Anza." Daryl mumbled, dumping the small stack of CD's into my lap. I slightly glowered at Daryl. He could be so annoying. I looked through the scattered CD's to see what music Daryl listened to. Kings of Leon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles, The Doors, and of course, The Beatles. Daryl had an impressive taste in music, though I found the Beatles to be overrated. The Doors and Lynyrd Skynrd were probably the only CD's I liked that he had.

"You really are a hillbilly, Daryl." I sighed, putting in Lynyrd Skynyrd in the CD drive.

"Southern all the way, baby." Daryl commented.

Sweet Home Alabama immediately started playing. Daryl grinned at me and began singing loudly and passionately alongside Ronnie Van Zant. He actually looked like he was enjoying himself. Lines of trees passing through us, including a loud raging river beside us. An an unknown road with more death and destruction lay ahead of us.

And we were calmly listening to Lynryd Skynryd.

* * *

When we returned to the camp, the others didn't relent in showing their distaste in us leaving for Daryl's Harley and other supplies. Rick stated that we couldn't take all of the cars due to fuel shortages. Rick wanted me to abandon my jeep Wagoneer since the driver's window was smashed, but that changed after his own jeep died. The transmission or some shit like that was totally fucked. Rick wasn't a mechanic so we had no choice but to take my Wagoneer truck. It was a large and powerful truck that we needed. Daryl and T-Dog loaded the Yamasaki onto the trailer, placing it gently against his Davidson. We began loading all of our supplies as much as we could into the trunk and trailer.

That night, I taped cardboard over the broken window to keep the warm air inside and possibly walkers outside. Rick and Lori each got sleep in the two comfy backseats of the red wagon while me, Daryl, and Carol had to sleep underneath them on the floor. I gave Shane and Andrea my small tent to sleep in since the other tents were huge. The rest slept in Dale's RV. Because of Sky's gunshot wound to the shoulder, she got to sleep in the queen sized bed with Sophia. Carl slept on the floor beside their bed. Dale slept on the couch while T-Dog and Glenn slept on the floor. We had to tie Walker to the trailer outside to keep a look out for walkers or strangers nearby.

"At least I don't have to worry about a boogeyman." Lori joked, looking down at us below her.

"What are you talking about? Daryl is the boogeyman." I joked.

Daryl scoffed at my cheesy joke, turning his back towards me. He pulled the covers to his dirty blanket over his cold shoulders. At least I wouldn't have to smell his husky breath in my face. Although strangely he did smell kind of nice, it was very manly.

That morning, we quickly gathered our things and took off. Since it was crowded inside the station wagon, Daryl decided to drive his Harley. After they loaded their belongings into my jeep, we all got in. I let Rick drive the wagon, Lori sat in the passenger seat, Carol sat with Carl and Sophia in the front seat, and I had to sit in the back seat. I contemplated staying in the RV to be with Sky, who was resting in the bed, but it was already crowded there and they assured me that she would be fine.

"We went to the Grand Canyon?" asked Carl with exasperation.

"You wouldn't remember it," laughed Rick. "You were just a baby. Plus, you got sick about halfway there. I didn't think a baby could throw up that much."

I was examining my father's hunting knife. "You'd be surprised, Rick." I interjected with a faint smile.

Lori smiled to her husband. "We had to turn back about halfway. It was still a fun trip though."

"I went to the Grand Canyon when I was about five, don't really remember though." I explained, then remembering the photos that Papa had shown me. I dug through the photo album I brought with me, looking for that one picture. Luckily, I remembered which one it was in. And I found it.

It was me as a five year old, wearing a pinky sun dress with my dark curly locks held in two ponytails on my head. Beside me was my sister Carmen, who was then fifteen. Then, there was my Caucasian blond mother, Alex, and native Hispanic father, José. Then, there was my paternal grandmother, Theodora Cruz, whom we all called Grandma Theo. I loved Grandma Theo, she was the one who taught me Spanish and Portuguese. I remembered how people would shoot my mother dirty looks for marrying a Hispanic man. That was why they never got along with my mother's family, who detested her for marrying a Mexican. I never met my maternal grandparents or family and after hearing that, was glad not too. I was happy enough without them.

I rubbed my fingers against the photo over their faces. How I missed them. They were all probably dead now. My father eaten by walkers. I passed a couple of photos around for them to see. "Wow, it looks amazing." Sophia stated. "Do you think we could go to the Grand Canyon sometime?"

Then, it was silent. I frowned once trying to imagine that. There was no way we could go to the Grand Canyon in the middle of an apocalypse. The group would definitely object to that, especially Shane. He was such a buzz kill when it came to fun.

"The place is probably filled with walkers." I pointed out.

"We wouldn't go without you and your mom," Rick replied, ignoring me. "Sky and Anza could come too if they wanted."

I wondered if we really could go to the Grand Canyon. If things ever calmed down, maybe we could. I couldn't picture going on vacation with walkers at every corner. We were always on the run and always would be for the rest of our lives. Then, Rick slowed the car to a stop on the highway.

That's when we all saw it.

There was a traffic jam of cars and trucks in front of us. Only it looked like a tornado swept through them all. Most of the cars doors were open, some were flipped over on the back or their sides, and all of them were scattered across the highway. Dead bodies filled most of the cars and highway. A silence over swept us as we inched closer. Daryl drove around the back and stopped beside Rick's broken window. "We can't turn back, we don't have the fuel to spare it." Daryl explained. "Anza is probably going to have to move some of the cars to clear a path."

I scowled at Daryl. "Why me?"

Daryl revved the engine, before driving back to the front. That plan was put on hold when there was a burst of steam coming from under the hood of Dale's camper. Probably the damn radiator again. Rick sighed and stopped the wagon. We all immediately stepped out. Walker barked a few times from the back seat. I stroked his muzzle for a few moments before walking with the others.

Dale was complaining about the broken radiator. He fixed his fishing hat on top of his head. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no supplies, no nothin!" he complained, flailing his arms for a moment. I walked towards the open back door of a car. There were boxes filled with clothes, canned food, and other items. "No we're not, I'm sure we can scavenge some parts from these cars." I stated. "These cars are also filled with supplies."

"We could siphon gas too." T-Dog said, stepping forward.

"Food and water." added Carol.

That was when Lori stepped forward. "This is a graveyard." Lori said solemnly. We were all silent for a few moments. Torn apart by guilt over survival. Daryl, of course, was unaffected by this. He continued to ravage through the boxes of stuff in the back of the car we were standing in. "Well, what do you want us to do? These people are dead and obviously aren't going to use it." I reasoned. "Why let it go to waste?"

"Because we're disrespecting the dead."

Daryl shut the back door to the car and stood in front of Lori. "Disrespecting the dead? Gimme a break. It's better than dyin'."

Although Daryl said that quite rudely, I did silently agree with him. Lori let out a sigh and nodded with agreement. "Alright, everyone, gather what you can, now." Lori announced to the rest og us.

We all split up to scavenge what we needed from these abandoned cars and trucks. T-Dog worked on siphoning gas, Daryl ripped open a hood to a car take some spare parts, Lori and Carol went exploring through the highway cemetery, while Carl and Sophia stayed close to me. Dale climbed to the top of his camper to stay watch, with Rick at the bottom with his rifle while Glenn was fixing the RV. I noticed Andrea standing around doing nothing. There seemed to be a look of despair on her face. She walked back inside the RV. I didn't bother telling her to go help us. Andrea was still mourning the loss of Amy. As much death as we were surrounded by, it wasn't something we could easily get over.

As I slowly walked through the maze of cars and trucks, I wondered if I could find a window for my wagon. I had no idea how to do it though. I was going to have to ask Dale or Daryl if they could. So, I just decided to find some clothes and other supplies for me and Sky.

"Hey Anza," Lori called out to me.

"Yeah?" I asked turning around.

"Could you keep an eye on Carl and Sophia?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Anything to appease the worrying mother. It at least made their job of finding supplies either. Carol and Lori were gathering a basket of clothes from a different car. That was when I saw Sky step out of the camper. She rubbed her drowsy eyes with her only good arm, yawning once. Sky had her arm in a sling and rested these past few days in Dale's camper.

I placed an arm around her shoulder, before rubbing it. "Feeling better?" I smiled down at her.

She just looked at me. I took that as a yes. Sophia walked up to her and gave her a hug. "That's great, wanna help me look through some stuff?"

Sky didn't say anything or show any emotion. She merely walked with Sophia over to Carl.

"The camper broke down again, we're looking for supplies if you want to help." Carl explained, beckoning her to follow. Sky nodded once, following me through the weave of scattered cars. I dumped out a basket filled with photo albums, feeling incredibly guilty about it afterwards. So, I placed all the photo albums on the lap of the corpse who formerly owned the car. Flies crawled all over the rotting corpse. I realized that I didn't want to disrespect the dead. Maybe Lori was partially right. I placed a flashlight, a first aid kit, and a sewing kit I found in the back into the woven basket.

"Hey, Anza, can you teach me how to hot wire a car?" Carl then asked, climbing into the driver's seat of a huge dark blue semi-truck. I set down the stuff I collected and walked towards him. "Sure." I replied, getting into the passenger seat. Sophia and Sky soon climbed into the back to hear of the lesson. Only Sophia was able to lean in for a close look. Because of Sky's shoulder injury, she got out of the semi and stood beside Carl to watch. I instructed him on how to bust open the plastic ignition container and which column of wires to hot wire. "These two wires?" Carl inquired, holding two yellow wires.

"Yes," I replied. "Tie them together."

The moment he did, the car came to life—and bolted across the road—causing Sky to fall off the side of the car and onto the pavement. We all screamed loudly as the semi crashed into a car in front of us. It was a good thing the car was only a few feet away from us to stop us from going further. But, it continued to slowly plow through the car, eventually flipping it over. The semi was now bolting towards the extremely steep hill into the forest. "Take your foot off the gas, Carl!" I screamed into his ear.

"My foot isn't touching the pedals!" Carl hollered, stomping on the brakes. That was when I noticed the gas pedal was stuck. Sophia quickly jumped out of the now stalling semi truck. I reached over and snapped the two wires apart. The engine instantly lost its life.

We weren't out of the woods yet though. In fact, quite the opposite. We were heading towards the woods that had an extremely steep hill. "Jump!" I screeched at Carl, grabbing him and throwing us out of the semi. The both of us holding tightly to each other as we rolled across the pavement. I did my hardest to take most of the blows from the impact. The blue semi truck rolled down the hill, through bushes and picking up speed until it crashed loudly into a tree.

My heart thudded across my chest. The adrenaline made me tense in a natural reaction. Carl got off of me while I lay on the ground. My head and body were throbbing with pain. I could feel a trickle of blood roll down my forehead and towards my right eye. "Anza, Anza, are you okay?" Carl exclaimed, seeing the blood on my head. He smudged it once.

"Never been better." I said in a raspy voice. Pushing against the pain from the impact, I got up on my feet with some help by Carl. Sophia carefully lifted Sky off of the ground onto her feet. I could see Sky wincing with pain from the fall. She had gotten shot in the collarbone and now was thrown out of a moving truck. Luckily, it wasn't too bad for me as well. Just like falling off your bike, although in my case, it was jumping out of a car.

That was when I saw everyone rushing towards me. Carol was crying as was Sophia when they ran into each others arms. Lori was just as frantic as Carol was, running towards her son. "Carl!" Lori cried out. "My baby!"

"I'm fine, Mom, I just fell on the cement." Carl stated as firmly as he could. He seemed agitated by Lori's babying and examining every part of his body for wounds. I could tell he wanted to prove that he was tough. Yeah, Mom, I fell out of a moving truck and I feel fine. That was when I was met with the glares of Lori and Shane. The dark haired woman was inches away from my face, the embodiment of fury. "What the _fuck_ were you doing?" Lori screamed at me. "Are you trying to get my son _killed?"_

"It was an accident!" I tried to explain. "I was just teaching him how to—"

Shane interrupted. "—What you did was stupid, you fucking moron! Does this look like the time to be doing Driver's Ed?!

"In the middle of a fucking highway filled with abandoned cars!" Lori added.

"That's not what I was doing!" I screamed back into Lori's face. "It was an _accident!_ The gas pedal was stuck to the floor—"

"—An accident that could've costed us the lives of Sophia, Sky, and Carl!" Lori bellowed, still absolutely enraged.

I was surrounded in a circle of them. All of their eyes were on me, staring with disgust. They weren't going to listen to me. These people that I trusted and thought trusted me. Carol wasn't nearly as angry as Lori, there were tears in her eyes as she cradled Sophia. Dale, T-Dog, and Daryl were silent bystanders. Rick stepped forward, even managing to remain calm in this situation. "Lori, you need to calm down."

_"Calm down?_ Rick, she almost got our kids killed!" she shouted at him, before turning to me. She poked me hard in the chest. "You stay away from my son!"

With that, Lori marched away with Carl in tow, who was objecting to his mother. The group slowly broke apart until Daryl remained. "That was stupid, you know." he told me.

I then glared at him with tears streaming down my face. "Just shut the fuck up, hillbilly. You weren't even there." I hissed into his face, before marching away.

I just wanted to run away and die. I deserved to die for being such a piece of shit. I wasn't teaching them how to drive, not on a fucking abandoned highway filled with cars. How was I supposed to know the gas pedal was broken? I knew it wasn't my fault, it was an accident. But, now I believed it was my fault and I deserved to die for it. I can't take living in this fucked up world anymore. When I was certain that no one was watching, all their attention now spent on the children, I slipped away. I climbed over the metal railing and ran into the forest. I ran as fast as I could. I was going to run and never stop.

Never going back.


	13. The Greenes

I continued running until I was certain no one could see me. I was aware of how skilled a tracker and hunter Daryl was. I didn't want them to find me as soon as they realized that I was gone. That was if they even noticed. Or cared.

I should've never stayed with that group. It should've just been me and Sky. It was sad when the only person I could trust was just an obedient mute. But, now, even I had hurt her. How the fuck was I supposed to know the gas pedal was sunk into the floor? I wasn't teaching them how to drive in the middle of the fucking highway filled with cars, as Shane put it. I wasn't that fucking dumb. I was just teaching them how to hot wire a car. I never expected the truck to take off like that. I wouldn't have let Carl drive off either. Sky had been standing on the little footstep attached to the huge semi. She fell off it when the semi jerked to life. The guilt was eating away at me like a walker would. And I could feel all of the pain as I was being ripped apart.

The rage and contempt in their eyes. All of the people that I had trusted had now turned on me At least Daryl was calm about the situation. I expected him to fire off at me in his Southern spittin' accent. Although he still had to inject his input into me like poison, when I really didn't fucking need it.

None of it mattered now.

I had resigned myself to just starve in this forest until a walker came along to eat me. I wouldn't fight the walker. I slowed down to a steady jog after I was sure that I had put some distance between me and the group. They were probably still on the highway looking for supplies from the abandoned cars. It must have been two hours of me walking through this jungle. I alternated between jogging and walking to keep up the distance. I didn't have any of my guns on me, nor did I wajt them. Although I did have my hunting knife. At first, I contemplated tossing it into the nearby creek. But, it was too precious to throw away. It has been in our family for generations, now in my possession. I at least still had my cellphone to listen to my father's last voice mail. I kept my cell tucked in my pocket.

Time to keep walking.

Being in the woods alone was refreshing for me, it was nice to be alone in solitude. Not have to deal with the stress of being in a group. I could make my own choices now. The birds were chirping loudly as I walked under the shade of the trees. It must have been sunset. I temporarily turned on my cell to see what time it was. It was six o'clock. I had been hiking for three hours? Actually, I could believe that. My throat was dry and my lips were cracking from thirst and dehydration. But, that didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. That was the only thing that kept me walking.

As it got darker, I figured it was time to find a place to sleep. I had never slept out in the middle of a forest before. It was a little chilly, but I didn't care. I heard noises all around me. Night creatures such as raccoon and rats were coming out. There were crickets chirping and an occasional hoot of an owl. I looked around for a place to sleep. I noticed a willow tree with large, strong elongated branches before me. That would be a nice place to sleep. At least I wouldn't have to sleep on the ground. Not that that mattered anymore. Nothing did. I climbed up the tree, finding a huge branch with a sturdy fork. A perfect place to sleep. I leaned against the tree trunk, making myself comfortable. Fuck those guys, I was better off dying in the wilderness. As the night grew darker, the air grew colder. Goosebumps formed on my legs. But, I didn't give a fuck no more. I close my eyes to the cruel world around me.

* * *

There was a shrill scream and my eyelids flew open. I was suddenly awake and aware. For a second, I thought I was back at the cabin where Sky's mother had been murdered. That was the second time this happened. I heard some more voices as well as the sound of snapping twigs. Someone was running nearby. There were more snap noises, which meant more people. It was bright with the sun shining through the willow's leafy strands. There was dew soaking my clothing and the tree. That was when I knew it was morning. A new day. And already I was off to a bad start.

I couldn't see where the people were. The damn willow was blocking it with its unique strands of mossy leaves. Suddenly, a young girl with long pale blond hair was slammed against the tree. There was laughter as three men surrounded her. They looked to be in the early or late twenties, not much older than me. All of them had tattered clothes and were covered in dirt as most of us in this age were. They must have been from camping out in the woods too. One of them had a pump auto shotgun and the other two had handguns. I eyed them with desire.

"Come on, if you don't fight us, we promise we won't hurt you..._much."_ laughed one of the men. The girl looked to be around my age, but probably younger. She was flung against the tree trunk helplessly. She looked so timid and scared for her life. "Since I found her, I get to go first." the one with the shotgun said. "You can have her when I'm done."

"Fuck yeah, we're gonna have a good and long time with you, darlin'!" said the dark blond one, grinning down on the girl.

Slowly and noiselessly, I stop laying against the tree trunk and got into a crouch. I would not stand aside for this. Luckily, the huge branch I had been sleeping on didn't shake or move an inch to alert the company below. I drew out my hunter's knife from its leather sheath. So far, they hadn't noticed me above them. The first one handed his partner his shotgun. He hurriedly began unfastening his belt and zipper. I grasped my knife with both hands planning how to do this. Then, I jumped out of the tree—slamming my hunter's knife into the head of dark blond guy.

The knife slickly went through the man's skull and was slammed into the ground from my weight. The man who was about to rape this girl was instantly dead. The two men jumped back, startled by my appearance. And I took advantage of that, quickly stabbing the man in the neck holding the two guns with my knife. The blade went clean through his throat. When I pulled it out, a small jet of blood hit me on the face. He began choking on his own blood, which was now bleeding profusely from the hole I made in his neck. He collapsed to the ground where his last moments would be in agony.

There was a loud bang of a gun. It sounded like it had been fired right next to my ear. Immediately, I felt an extremely sharp pain on the side of the head. I stumbled back from the pain, clutching my head. Warm blood soaked my hands. The bullet scrapped my head, narrowing avoiding getting lodged in my skull. The man quickly went to reload his revolver, but the blond girl tackled him to the ground. I snapped out of my shock and pain to helped the blond girl kill the man. I stabbed the man in both of his eyes, who screamed loud in absolute agony. I then yanked the knife out of his skull, slightly ripping out his eyeball from their sockets. My hands were soaked with the blood of the living. Some of it was mine, but most of it came from those men.

The blond girl got off of the now dead bandit. I panted heavily, the adrenaline still pumping through my system. The pain and throbbing overwhelming my head. My face, hands, and shirt were now covered with blood. I was just in a massacre and slaughtered.

"Th—Thank you for saving me." the girl stammered.

I waved the bloody knife to here once, before my arm collapsed in my lap. "Yeah, no problem at all." I answered, cheeky. "You came to the right tree."

My eyes felt like they were being squeezed out of their sockets. I now had a massive headache stemming from the wound to my head, which was now bleeding profusely. "My name is Beth Greene," the girl introduced herself. "What's yours?"

"Anza Cruz."

"Nice to meet you, Anza." Beth smiled. "If you want, you could come back with me to my farm. We need helpers. But, my Dad could also take a look at your head."

I let out a defeated sigh. I just wanted to die, but now I saw unsure about it. "Yeah, sure, why not?" I muttered.

"Great!" Beth smiled. "We better go now before any infected come."

I quickly gathered the three guns from the dead bandits bodies, as well as ripping the backpack off of one of them, before we left. We both sprinted through the forest for a few minutes before going into a jog. "Alright, we're almost home, we can walk." Beth panted, her long messy blond hair in a ponytail. Beth didn't seem to have the same physical endurance as me. She probably hadn't been running around like I had and Beth was definitely a skinny little thing. Maybe now was the time to get answers.

"Who were those guys?" I questioned.

"Bandits, they showed up here a few weeks ago." Beth explained. "They killed some of our people from town when the outbreak happened. Luckily, they haven't found our farm yet, although they know we're around here."

"It's a dog eat dog world out there as you just saw a moment ago."

Beth remained silent after I said that. We continued walking through the lining of trees. I could feel myself growing more dizzy. I had probably lost too much blood, which was worsened by the fact that I was dehydrated. My heart was pounding and my breathing became raspy. I felt so exhausted, collapsing to my knees. "Anza, are you okay?" Beth exclaimed, kneeling beside me.

"Please...just...help me walk..." I breathed.

Beth wrapped my arm around her shoulder and helped me to my feet. After about ten minutes of slow and steady walking, we entered a clearing where the forest ended. By this time, I had almost fallen asleep from being so tired. I could see a two story house next to a barn a little ways away. They had a couple acres of land for their lawn. We walked through the tall grass. There was a woman with shoulder length brown hair sitting on the porch swing. Once she saw us, the woman quickly ran inside. A few seconds later, a small group of people exited the house and rushed towards us. The brunette hugged Beth tightly before withdrawing. "Where the hell were you, Beth?"

"I got attacked by a couple of bandits. I'm fine thanks to this girl. She saved my life," Beth explained, holding my wrist around her shoulders tighter. "Though she's badly wounded."

I noticed an overweight man lower his rifle when it was apparent that there was no danger. An elderly man who was lean and in good health for being in his late sixties or so walked towards me. He grasped Beth into his arms before greeting her and gently scolding her for running off. The old man wore white button up shirt with suspenders attached to his light brown trousers. It made the old man look respectable and elegant. "My name is Hershel Greene and these are my daughters; Maggie and Beth." explained the man named Hershel. "Thank you for saving Beth."

"Anytime," I breathed. "I'm Anza Cruz."

"Let's go get you cleaned up," Hershel said, motioning me to come with him. Beth released me as Hershel placed a hand on my shoulder and led me into his house. I collapsed in front of the stairs. I was just too damn tired, sleepy, and in pain to move. A few moments later, I woke up in a nice bed with Hershel sitting beside me.

"How did I get here so fast?" I mumbled.

"You passed out from blood loss a minute ago, that's why," Hershel explained. "Patricia gave you a couple blood pills to help replenish the blood you've already lost."

My head was still spinning and in pain from the gunshot wound. It took serious effort to stay awake and talk. "I take it you're a doctor?"

Hershel paused for a moment. "You could say. In any case, you got lucky. The bullet just grazed the side of your cranium. Although the wound is still deep, I don't see any bone or bullet fragments. That's a good thing." Hershel explained thoroughly. "Just a tangential skull wound. Although I see a small gash on your forehead, looks like you had a nasty fall. It's not big deal. All you need is a few stitches."

Although he didn't exactly answer my question, I still trusted this man enough to know that he knew what he was doing. I still hated stitches though. His daughter Maggie returned with a green medical kit and a nice, clean pair of clothes. Hershel opened the kit.

From the corner of my eye, I saw medical instruments in it. This wasn't just your typical first aid kit. It had a scalpel, a weird pair of looking scissors, needles, syringes, and other foreign medical instruments. Hershel began cleaning out the wound with a disinfectant. I had to restrain myself from screaming on the top of my lungs. My body arched up and flinched away from Hershel when he did that. I suppressed a scream into the pillow. "I'm gonna inject a little bit of anesthesia into your head, this might hurt for a moment." Hershel warned me. "Then I'm gonna wait a few minutes before stitchin' ya up. I sprayed some blood clotting medicine on your head so you don't bleed to death."

I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head from where Hershel was injecting the anesthesia with the needle. I growled, holding back another yell. My fingernails dug into the pillow as I did this. "So, are you out here all by yourself?" Hershel asked, obviously trying to start up a conversation. "I noticed that your body is covered in cuts and bruises, looks like you've had it rough out there."

Hershel started to prepare a needle and thread, then pulling out a bottle of iodine. I closed my eyes to rest them for a few moments. If only he knew, it seemed to me that he had no idea what was out there. Hershel and his family were safe on this little farm. Though nothing lasts forever. "I was with a group, but I left. I got all these cuts and bruises from falling out of a hundred foot Douglas and all the encounters with other shithead survivors out there."

"Did the shithead survivors bite you as well?" Hershel then asked.

_Fuck_. He saw it. Although it was hard to miss since it was on the base of my neck and this old man wasn't blind.

"No, the shithead walkers did." I answered plainly.

I couldn't escape the truth nor lie to this man. Though I doubted he would kidnap and experiment on me. Then again, maybe he would. People fell off the grid and did the most fucked up things to survive. Hershel then turned the side of my face. I felt slight pressure on my head, but no pain, as he began stitching up the wound. "The wound is near healed. You survived." Hershel stated as a matter-of-fact.

"Yeah." I muttered.

"You could create a cure, you know,"

"I already tried with the government. They murdered one of our group members and kidnapped me." I stated. "All these cuts and bruises I got were because of them. I had to jump out of a helicopter they had me in and landed in a tree."

Hershel picked up the scissors to cut off the end of the stitches. He then matted down my bloody hair over the stitches. "That doesn't mean you should give up hope, there are other factions in this country that can help create a cure. Independent ones. It doesn't have to be the government." Hershel said, looking me square in the eye as if this was my responsibility. "You can put an end to this anytime."

"I already tried, old man. I learned that day that you can't trust anyone but yourself in this world." I said to him, sitting up on the bed and examining the clothes. It was a cute black and blue stripped shirt with some jean capris. They also gave me a nice green jacket for warmth. Although my body was still covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I must be going."

"You're leaving already?" Beth asked in shock, entering the room. "But, you just got here and you're still covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. Don't you want to take a shower or something?"

"Yes, I must be off. I have to go warn my group about the bandits and make sure they know that I'm okay. I sorta ran off after an argument." I sheepishly admitted, looking away in shame.

"Do you need any food or supplies?" Patricia offered.

"No, thank you, I've got some food and supplies in this bag I got from the bandits," I kindly rejected. "You guys will probably need it more than me."

Hershel nodded once, cleaning the blood off of his hands with a wet rag. "Well you take care of yourself, Anza Cruz."

I placed the rifle strap over my shoulder. "You too, Hershel Greene."

With that, I turned and ran off the porch through the tall grass of their acres wide lawn. I needed to get back. Now, I felt a lot better after the incident with the semi. I couldn't help having a fit. I just needed to calm down and think things through. I needed to rejoin my group and fix things. I couldn't just run away when things got bad. I also had to warn them about the bandits.


	14. Danger and Death

I awoke from the pile of leaves that I slept in for the night. After sitting up, I yawned and stretched out my sore limbs. I had a nasty beating yesterday from falling out of the semi to getting shot in the head by a bandit. Yet, here I was, still having to walk through all of that. It was early in the morning from the gentle light of the sun and morning dew. I had to get back to the group.

I grabbed my backpack and my shotgun. The two tiny revolvers were tucked into my front pockets. They only had seven rounds split in between them though. I only had five rounds on the shotgun. For breakfast, I ate some dried fruit that was in the bandit's backpack that I killed. There was also a couple of cans of Chunky soup and a bottle filled with water. I should be back at the highway within a couple of hours or so. I just hoped that I didn't get lost. It shouldn't be too hard since I basically walked in a straight line when I ran away.

It was a cool morning while I hiked through the trees. The sun hadn't completely risen, so I didn't have to worry about it blazing down my back. I took a drink of water, then quickly conserving the rest for my hours long hike back. As the day went on, I continued to march through the vast forest and green. My only company were the squirrels and the song birds. It was so nice to be in touch with nature. I was glad that the apocalypse for the most part didn't take away nature.

I then heard a bunch of shouting only yards away. I instantly held my shotgun close to me and went into a crouch. I climbed up a small, grassy slope so I could see the view of what was happening. There were a group of men surrounding two little girls. My eyes widened with horror when I realized who the girls were.

They were Sky and Sophia.

What the fuck were they doing so far out here in the forest? Where was Rick and the others? Okay, what happened with the truck was an accident. But, I was for sure going to yell at Lori for not watching the kids. She deserved it for treating me like shit after the incident.

"Please, just let us go!" Sophia begged.

One of the men slapped her hard across the face before taking her stuffed rabbit and throwing it to the ground. They dragged the two girls towards a tree near me. I hid behind the large bushes as I watched them tie up Sky and Sophia with a rope. "Hey, can we have a bit of fun with them?" one of the men gleefully asked.

"I don't want to fuck a couple of kids, I want a woman."

"Sorry, can't exactly ask for a Victoria's Secret model nowadays."

I was hoping that when the men were distracted that I could cut Sophia and Sky's ropes, but they clearly had other plans. I couldn't do this quietly, but I knew I had to be quick since they outnumbered me. When one of the men approached Sky and Sophia. That was when I jumped up, blasting him in the stomach with the shotgun. He was flung backwards into the ground with a loud yell. The other three men turned around, but by that time, I had quickly blown them to bits too.

_Chi-chick, BANG! chi-chick, BANG! chi-chick, Bang!_

And then they were all lying on the ground dead. I emerged from the green fauna in front of the two girls. Sophia and Sky were stunned by my appearance, but happy, to see me. "Anza!" she exclaimed. "We thought you were dead!"

I began sawing through the rope. "Again?" I asked.

After cutting through one of the ropes, I yanked it off of Sophia and Sky. The rope would definitely be handy for the group. I quickly gathered the rope into a small circle before throwing it in my backpack. "What happened to you guys?" I inquired. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Before Sophia could answer, there was a loud animalistic sound from behind me. We turned to see about three walkers enter the clearing. More of them were probably going to come. The shotgun noises brought them here.

"On second thought, _run!"_ I exclaimed as three of us dashing into the forest. The three walkers stumbled behind us. They weren't nearly as fast, but they were relentless in their pursuit. I had to take care of them before more arrived. I grabbed Sophia, yanking her to behind a large tree trunk. Sky quickly was at her side. I pulled out my hunting knife. "Please, don't leave us behind like Rick did." Sophia begged, tugging at my green coat.

"I'm not." I answered.

Rick left them behind? Fuck did that mean? I didn't have time to ponder more about it as the walkers drew closer. I quickly went up behind one and slammed my knife through the back of its skull. The other two walkers took notice and gravitated towards me. I easily dispatched them too. Luckily, I only got a few blood splatters on the nice green coat Patricia gave me. I had given myself a sponge bath of sorts when walking back from the Greene farm. There was so much blood on my hands. My face, my arms, my legs, my body. From those I had killed and my own wounds.

"Come on, let's go before more of them come." I stated.

The two of them followed me through the woods. As we ran, I noticed more walkers appearing. They were yards away but I knew it wouldn't be like that for long. Sky coughed once, tripping and falling into the dirt. A walker growled once as it ran for her. I stabbed it in the mouth before grabbing Sky and pulling her to her feet. Sky was too weak and in too much pain to run. That gunshot would she got from the CDC still needed healing.

"Guys! Up here!" called out the voice of Sophia. I noticed her climbing a huge moss covered tree. This was probably the largest tree I had ever seen. Some of the branches were the size of a normal tree trunk. "Good thinking, Soph!" I complimented her.

Luckily, the bottom part of the tree trunk was sticking outwards, so you could literally just walk up the side of it. After that part was gone, I had to help Sky climb up the tree. I would grab her good arm and pull her to the same branch I was standing on. After climbing about thirty or forty feet, I noticed Sophia sitting in a large gap opening in the middle of the tree. Part of the trunk split off into other branches, making a nice little platform. I helped Sky onto the opening space, before sitting besides them. I was panting hard. I still wasn't entirely recovered from yesterday. I looked down below to see about a dozen walkers making it past the tree. We were too high up and camouflaged for them to see us.

* * *

_"You've been out here for two days?"_ I gaped.

Sophia ate hungrily out of the Chunky soup can that I had given her. She didn't have a fork, so Sophia basically had to drink out of it. For Sky, she wanted the pack of beef jerky I had. The two girls shared the bottle of water I had. "Yeah, it was right after you left, a huge herd of walkers came through the highway. There had to be a thousand of them." described Sophia. "We all hid under the cars, but a couple walkers found us anyway. We ran into the forest and Rick came to help us. He told us to stay hidden in the river while he dealt with them, since he couldn't use his gun because it would draw more walkers. But, as soon as he left, a couple of walkers found us and we had to run away."

She said this all at once, then taking a bite out of the piece of beef in the thick brown broth from the can. I absorbed all of this in. I shook my head, disappointed in myself for not being there. "I'm sorry I left. I was really upset after the accident with the truck and Lori getting mad at me." I apologized, shamefully. "I should've been there for you."

Sophia looked up at me, shaking her short red hair. "It's not your fault, it was an accident. Just like with the semi. Me and Carl told Lori this. She was gonna apologize to you but you ran off." Sophia explained. "Besides, it's probably a good thing you ran off. I mean, you found us, right? You always appear to save us all whenever there's trouble."

She giggled after saying that. I wasn't as overjoyed or amused by it as Sophia was. I didn't know if things would've been different had I stayed, but there was nothing I could do about it. None of it mattered. Sophia and Sky were now safe. I rubbed Sky on the shoulder. "You fell off the truck, were you okay?"

Sky nodded once as nibbled on a piece of marinated beef jerky. Both of them quickly chugged the water I had. The poor girls were tired, hungry, and dehydrated from having to spend two nights out in the woods by themselves. So, I gave them all of my food. One night on an empty stomach wouldn't harm me.

"What happened to your head?" Sophia asked, poking it. My face immediately cringed and she quickly withdrew her hand. "I ran into some trouble too, I'm just fucking Wonder Woman, aren't I? All I do I save helpless little girls all lost and all alone in the forest." I sighed.

Sophia laughed once, before peering over the edge of the tree. "Do you think we can leave?"

I laid back against the tree trunk. "No, there's still a bunch of walkers down there. We can leave once their gone." I answered, making myself comfortable. I had a feeling we were going to be up here all night. After about four hours, the walkers were still passing by. How many damn walkers could there be? By the time they were gone, it was already near dark and was starting to get cold.

"They're gone, let's go!" Sophia whispered to me.

I pointed to my neighbor Sky, who was fast asleep. "We'll stay up here for the night, we're all exhausted and we'll be safe up here." I answered in a low voice. "We can leave when it's light out."

"I don't want to sleep in a tree."

"Better than getting eaten by a walker."

Sophia was won over by that albeit reluctantly. Though that excuse would win every argument. I held my shotgun close to me for protection. It didn't take long for me to close my eyes and drift off into a sleep. Sophia huddled next to me. I could feel her shivering and shaking from the cold. Well, Sophia was wearing a short sleeved purple shirt and light brown capris. I sighed once, getting up and taking off my nice green designer coat that Patricia gave me.

"Here," I said. "Take it."

Sophia graciously accepted the coat and quickly put it on. "Thank you." she answered, quietly. The coat was large, at least for Sophia, reaching past her knees. Sophia pulled her bare legs inside the warm coat, curling up into a ball beside me. She stopped shivering and lay still, trying to get some sleep. I at least had a long sleeved shirt and thick jean pants. Thank the Greenes because I was wearing shorts and an A-shirt yesterday when I got attacked. I would've been absolutely freezing otherwise, although I would've endured if it came to that.

While it was still cold for me, it was bearable. It wouldn't bother me even if it tried. All three of us were cuddled close by too. Sophia and Sky were at least somewhat warm for the cold night and that was all that mattered to me. That was why I could sleep that night.

* * *

It was the morning light blaring in my face that woke me up. The whistles of the birds continued to ring throughout the forest. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light. I turned to each side of me. Sky and Sophia were sleeping soundly against my chest. They had warm jackets and a warm body, so they were fine throughout the night. I nudged Sky and Sophia in an attempt to awake them. I was instantly awake and ready to kill. I silently sat up and peered over the edge of the tree. I didn't see of hear any walkers down below. They must have all moved on. Now was the perfect time to leave.

"Rise and shine, ladies." I announced in a loud voice. They stirred once. "Another beautiful day with the birds singing! Now, let's get the fuck outta here before we crash into any more bandits and walkers!"

The girls groggily woke themselves up and forced themselves out of the tree. Sophia jumped from branch to branch down the huge mossy tree. For Sky, that was a different story. Her arm was still injured and in a sling. I held her loosely on my back as I carefully stepped down through the tree. I wasn't in top condition either with all the cuts, scraps, bruises, and the gash on my head that I got. Sophia waited patiently at the bottom. It took me about five minutes to climb down that huge sequoia. Sky slid off my back and onto the ground. The only thing that kept me going was my will. Now, I wanted to live.

I tossed Sophia my backpack as I checked how many rounds left I had in the shotgun. Only two. The handguns still had seven between them. Hopefully, we didn't walk into any walkers or bandits. After a long time of arguing with myself, I decided to do it. I pulled out the two tiny revolvers and held them out to Sophia and Sky. "You're going to give us a gun?" Sophia asked, intimidated by such a request.

Sky immediately took it. "Yes," I answered. "We don't know what lies ahead, you need to be able to protect yourself if any shithead tries to jump you. But, only use it if your life depends on it. Firing a shot will probably attract walkers and bandits, so don't make me regret it."

Sophia nodded once. "Okay, I promise to be careful."

I know it was a lot to put on a child, but this was the real world now. It didn't take much training to shoot a gun anyway. Sophia held onto the gun, before taking off her coat and wrapping it around her waist. The sun was rising and bearing down on our backs. It was almost summer time and the heat was killing me. After walking through the woods for maybe two hours or so, I found a small creek. I decided to fill up my water bottle for the rest of our journey. We were all thirsty. I knew it probably wasn't the cleanest water and we could get sick, but we had to take that chance. There was no choice.

There was a loud gunshot. I was so startled that I dropped my water bottle, the contents emptying onto the dirt. I instantly ran up the small hill of trees. "Sophia! Sky!" I hollered, reaching the top. I looked down to see Sophia on the ground with a now dead walker at her feet. She was holding the revolver, which was pointed at the dead walker. "Are you okay?!" I exclaimed, rushing down te leaf ridden slope.

Sophia retracted her legs inside her coat. "I'm alright. I shot him before he could bite me."

I sighed with relief. "Guess it was a good thing I gave you that gun." I smiled.

I helped Sophia to her feet. She looked at me with a blank expression. "Yeah...I guess..." she muttered, not seeming too pleased with herself. "C'mon, be proud of yourself!" I encouraged her. "You did good."

I gave her back the revolver. Before we left, I recollected some water from the small stream. I saw my own reflection as I did so. My darkest brown hair was messy, frizzy, with dried blood in it. My lightest brown skin which was usually clear and clean was covered in dirt. The only thing that remain unchanged were my hazel green eyes. But, I couldn't look away once without getting attacked. I just wanted the hell out of this forest. It reeked especially of death and danger.


	15. For Whom The Bell Tolls

We walked quietly alongside a trail that early afternoon. As long as I stayed with the sun on my right shoulder, we would reach the highway. I didn't realize how far I had run away until now. But, it was a good thing I did, I probably saved Sophia and Sky. I noticed Sophia wasn't talking as much as she usually did. She stuck close to Sky. Then, we heard a strange noise. Church bells? I stopped in my tracks, looking in the direction of the bells.

"Who's ringing that?" Sophia asked.

"I don't know," I answered. "And I'm not sure we should check it out either."

"It could be everyone ringing the bells for us, don't you think we should go check it out?" Sophia suggested. We didn't know for certain. That was why I was so afraid. We didn't know what was going to happen in this crazy world. But, I guessed as long as we remained careful, that it was worth investigating. "Alright, stay close." I warned.

It wasn't long until we heard a loud barking. I perked up immediately as did Sophia. "You think that's Walker?" she asked, excitedly.

"I hope so." The last thing we needed was to get attacked by a dog or a walker.

The barks got louder as I heard a loud scurrying across the leaves. I tensed up while , until I saw the familiar grey wolfdog bolt towards us. Walker whimpered with absolute joy, jumping up and down in front of us, before circling around us. Sophia then hugged the giant grey animal. Walker meant that the others were near. I heard more voices yelling and hollering for Walker to come back. Walker still had his leash. I grabbed it, all four of us running out of the forest with Walker valiantly in the lead. We reached a clearing in front of a small cemetery. I saw a church with a small steeple with a bell in it, where we had heard the ringing. By now, it had stopped.

Carl was outside with his mother Lori. He gasped once when he saw us. "Guys, they're here! Sophia and Sky are back!" he screamed into the church. "Anza too!"

Carol rushed out of the church. She covered her mouth with her hands when she saw her daughter. Tears instantly formed in her eyes. I could see that Sophia was about to cry too. "Sophia!" Carol cried out.

"Mom!" Sophia cried back.

The mother and daughter ran across the cemetery into each others arms. Reunited at last. Carol was sobbing as she held her only child close to her. Sky had no one to run to. Rick, Shane, Andrea, and Daryl exited the church to see the scene. They stood by to let Carol be with her daughter. Rick sighed, taking his sheriff hat off, happy that all of us were safe. I slowly walked across the cemetery alongside Sky with Walker tugging at the leash. To my surprise, Carl came over and gave Sky a big hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Sky." He admitted, then looking up at me. "You too, Anza. We were so worried about you!"

"Fuck ya go, girl?" Daryl snorted. approaching me. He crouched to pet Walker, who was all hyper and whimpering. There was no antagonism in Daryl's voice. I was a bit embarrassed. I had run off like a child. "I uh...ran away...I was really mad..." I admitted, scratching my head. "I'm sorry, guys."

Carol cradled Sophia, sniffling once through her tears. "Don't be, I'm glad you did, you saved my Sophia and Sky." she answered. "What happened with the truck was an accident, don't think it was at all your fault. Accidents happen and there's going to be more accidents to come. There's nothing we can do about that."

I smiled lightly at Carol as she also gave me a hug. Afterwards, Lori stepped towards me. I could the guilt written on her beautiful face. "I'm sorry I blew up at you, Anza. I just...all I saw was you in the semi with Carl and it suddenly bolting off like that. There's nothing more terrifying than losing your baby and I almost did and..." Lori dragged on, I could tell she was very tense from this. "I'm just sorry. It was an accident. You were only teaching them how to survive in this world and I was just so scared that Carl got hurt."

I nodded once. "Yeah, I understand why. I probably should've told you."

We shook hands and put it behind us. I already felt better from that. Carol lead Sophia and Sky inside the church. She needed a few moments to absorb getting her daughter back. But, she also wanted to thank Jesus for finding her daughter. Carol knelt before a huge golden statue of Jesus, on either side of him was his parents, Joseph and Mary. This must have been a Catholic church. Sophia was next to her mother in prayer too. "Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers." Carol said, closing her eyes. "The moment she prayed for Sophia, Sky, and Anza's return, five minutes later you guys showed up." Carl pointed out from next to me.

I sat in one of the church benches to rest. I personally never really believed in a God. I felt that science was enough to explain the existence of the universe. I just felt that believing in God was like asking to believe in an imaginary friend. The idea of believing in an imaginary friend was ridiculous to me. But, I did like the idea of God. It made people accept their life and their death. God gave them hope. And although people took religion to the extreme and sometimes only caused pain, prejudice, and grief with it, there were good things to the idea of a God. I didn't know if God existed, but I knew that hope was the only thing stronger than fear. Something we were going to need.

"Alright, now that we're all together and found, let's head back." Rick explained, rubbing his hands together. "Hopefully, we encounter no more problems for awhile.

I awkwardly raised my hand. "Um,"

What?" asked Rick, already tense from what I was about to say. He already knew it was bad news.

"I had to be a buzz kill, but...we do have another problem." I told him. "And a big one."

"What is it?"

"While I was in the woods, I encountered some bandits. They tried to rape this girl before I saved her, I got shot in the head doing so." I pointed to the stitches on my head. "They had also captured Sophia and Sky, they would've raped and killed them too if I had not been there. The girl I saved earlier took me back to her farm where her Dad, who's apparently a doctor, cleaned my wounds. These bandits have been giving them problems. He said there's maybe about twenty to thirty of these men living in the woods. Though I killed about seven of them these past two days. They rob, rape, and murder anyone they encounter."

Carol covered her mouth in horror at the prospect of that happening to her daughter. It was a damn good thing I ran away. The others all looked to each other with fear. Shane lightly banged his head on the church door. "Just what we need." he grumbled.

"What's the big deal?" Daryl scoffed, holding his crossbow. "Let's just find their camp and blow these fuckers up. We could also scavenge their food and supplies too."

Daryl was always so rash. I narrow my eyes. "These bandits are far away from us, I had to walk for about five hours straight before I encountered any. I don't think they'd go this far out."

"Unless they're looking for supplies," Daryl countered. "This highway is the perfect place for that."

That made me feel even more concerned. Rick stepped forth to lay down the order. "We'll deal with that later. Right now, we should all just head back and relax for the night." Rick explained. "We've been stressed out these past three days, now that you three are safe, we need to rest. Tomorrow at daybreak, you, me, and Daryl will go look around to find these bandits. Sound good?"

We all agreed with Rick. Only Andrea and Sky were silent on the matter. We all headed back towards camp, now pumped up and excited since we were all alive and together again. Carol pulled out a revolver from Sophia's coat pocket and gasped once. "Sorry, I gave Sophia and Sky a gun for protection." I said. "Sophia actually shot a walker today, she did very good."

Shane took away the revolvers from Carol and Sky. Though, he handed me back one of my rifles. Rick had my other rifle, the nice one with the hunting scope.

"So wait, Anza, who is about sixteen years younger than me, is allowed to have her gun?" Andrea asked with venom coating her voice. "But not me?"

I briefly held onto my rifle. "Anza knows how to use a gun." Shane pointed out, trying to act like the level headed cop. Andrea glowered at me before stalking off. "I've actually never had proper gun training," I sheepishly admitted. "I was in a gang, but never learned."

"I know," Shane responded. "But, you've had plenty of target practice with all these walkers and bandits attacking us. You also know when to use it responsibly. As for Andrea...best not to give a suicidal person a gun."

I silently agreed with him. When we made our way back to camp, Dale greeted us all with hugs. He patted me once on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're safe kid." He smiled. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and smiled back. I instantly saw Glenn light up with glee when he saw me.

"Where did you go? We thought you got eaten or something when you didn't come back."

Before I could answer, Daryl casually strolled in between us. "Prom queen ran off like a lil' bitch."

"Had no reason to stay, asshole." I snapped, with a glare.

I was getting so sick of Daryl. Sometimes Daryl could be nice to me, but other times he was just a dick. I didn't know what to think of him at this point. I helped Lori and Dale cook some food. Daryl made us a small wooden fire in front of the RV. We combined five cans of Chunky beef soup we found from the supplies they gathered from the cars. I added five cans of water to the mix before stirring in the huge pot. Daryl helped me place the pot over. We didn't have anything to hold it up with, so we had to be careful placing it on top of the burning wood.

Carol was sitting in a camping chair next to her daughter, holding her tightly. Both of them were smiling as they talked to each other. Carl was sitting in an abandoned SUV with Sky in the back. They found some Yu-Gi-Oh cards or something. Carl was trying to teach Sky how to play that game. I remembered all of the young neighborhood kids around Carl's age always obsessed with that show and the game.

"Alright, now that we're altogether! Time for my first drink! Go ta-ta-ta-team!" I said in a loud voice, holding up my pint of Jagermeister I found from Harold, the drug addict. Rick smiled at my cheerfulness and attempt to lighten the mood. T-Dog moaned once, sitting against the RV. His arm was bandaged from accidentally slicing it open on a broken window. He had an infection. "Ugh, I need a drink." groaned T-Dog.

Sky got up and gave him a cup. I opened the lid to the green liqueur bottle. Nobody gave a fuck that I was eighteen and underage. Besides, I had already had my first drink years ago with Steven and Tony. When Glenn walked past me, I held out the alcohol to him with a sly smile on my face. "Hey Glenn, want some?" I joked, remembering how hungover he was at the CDC.

"Fuck you, Anza." he retorted.

Most of us started laughing as Glenn left. Daryl exitted the camper and gave me a hard look.

"Aren't you underage?" he asked.

"Arrest me," I scoffed, taking a long drink from the pint. I could taste all of the herbs and spices burning all the way down my throat. It was the sting that I liked so much about it. Other than being a strong type of alcohol. Rick sat down at the table, he extended his hand out with a cup in it.

"I might if you don't pour me some." Rick smiled.

There were a few chuckles as I poured him some Jagermeister. "Sure thing, officer."

"Thank you, I need a good drink after all of this." Rick sighed, slamming down the alcohol. Lori patted him on the back. I sat at the table with Rick, Lori, Shane, and the sick T-Dog. Glenn sat around the small campfire with the soup beside Carol and Sophia.

I poured T-Dog a cup of Jager. He of all people probably needed it right now. T-Dog thanked me under his breath before slowly gulping it down. I took another drink from the Jagermeister bottle. "You know what tastes even better? A Jagerbomb." I sighed, examining the label. "Now those were really fucking good, I got so wasted with Steve and Tony doin' that."

"Very bad for you though, it's an energy drink and alcohol combined." Shane answered, not even looking at me. He was in his serious mode, concentrating is all on cleaning Andrea's handgun. I snickered, taking another long drink of the spicy alcohol. "Yeah, I know." I answered.

Lori looked at me uncomfortably as I drank. I could tell that she didn't like it, especially since I was underage. Carl looked up at me with interest. "What's it taste like?" he asked, curiously.

"Kind of like black licorice and cough medicine mixed together." I described, looking at the dark brown liquid. "It has a very strong taste, it burns your throat, but that's the best part."

Carl stuck his tongue out. "Eww, licorice cough medicine! I'm never drinking when I grow up!"

"Good, I don't want you to drink until you're twenty one." Lori expressed, with her arms crossed. I raised my hand once with a light smile. "Or you'll end up like me." I joked.

Rick gave a light hearted smile while Carl laughed a few times. Carl returned back to teaching Sky how to play Yu-Gi-Oh. Though underage drinking wasn't something I promoted. I knew what I was doing was bad and not healthy for you. But, at this point, where I could die at any moment to slobbering zombies or bandits, I really didn't care.

Sophia got up and tapped Sky on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you..."

Sky nodded, getting up and leaving with Sophia. Carl waited for Sky to return. Both girls walked behind the camper. When they returned, Sky didn't go back to play Yu-Gi-Oh with Carl. She shook her head for no when he asked if she wanted to play. Sky stuck close to Sophia and Carol the whole night. "Hey, Anza." said a voice from behind me.

The moment I turned around, there was a bright flash in my face. Sophia lowered the camera and took the photograph. "Got a good pic of me drunk?" I asked, before taking another swish from the bottle. "Yeah, I'm just making a scrapbook. I want to have memories and photos of you if any of you died." Sophia stated.

"Now, Soph, don't think like that." Carol scolded. "Come on over, and have some dinner."

"Can I take some pictures with you guys when we're done?"

"Sure, it can be your own photo shoot." I smiled, starting to feel the effects of being drunk. Sophia set down the camera and the pile of photographs she had taken. I noticed she had taken a couple of selfies in different backgrounds. But, I couldn't help feeling that Sophia was fake smiling in the photo. She looked a bit sad. I frowned, flipping the photo. It was hard to be happy in this dang age.


	16. It Tolls For Thee

"Hell yeah, I've tried lots of cocktails. Irish Car bomb, Sake bomb, Skittle bomb, and the F-Bomb. Hee hee. F-Bomb, get it? Ha ha! F-Bomb! It stands for the mixture of Fireball Whisky and Red Bull combined." I giggled like it was the funniest joke ever. I drank the last of the Jagermeister from my cup. The thick syrup oozed down my throat. I exhaled with relief. I was such a hardcore drinker when it came to alcohol. Nobody usually drank Jagermeister like I did. That shit was like drinking cough medicine.

"Enough with the bombing." Lori told me, getting irritated with my drinking It was starting to get dark out and the sun was no longer visible. I went to pour me a good ol' cup of Jager when Daryl decided to be a buzzkill and snatch the bottle away. "Hey! Gimme dat back!" I exclaimed, slightly slurring my words and falling out of my chair.

"You've had six cups in the last six hours, you're going to overdose if you keep drinking. Also not good to drink for someone your age. It's destroying what's left of your already small amount of brain cells, prom queen."

"Call da police!" I grumbled in a low voice. "It's my life and I'll do whadeva da fuck I want too wit it!"

"You're not having anymore drinks, darlin'." replied Daryl. "Now sit down and enjoy the campfire."

I tried wrestling the bottle away from Daryl to no avail. I was too weak and too drowsy to fight the well muscled and well aware man. I ended up collapsing on the cement ground like an idiot. Carl and Sky laughed at me, even in my drunk state, I noticed that Sophia did nothing. Using all of my strength to fight the sleepiness of being drunk overcome me, I pulled myself into the chair and sat in front of the blazing fire. Bursts of the intense heat quickly warmed me up from the outside cold. I already was feeling warm from all the Jager I drink. There was a strange yet familiar buzzing feeling underneath my skin. I had never felt so happy in a long time. The side effects of alcohol.

I needed to find more in this rotten world.

I noticed Walker sniffing at Sophia's leg before tugging on her pant leg with his teeth. "Stop it, Walker!" Sophia snapped at the wolfdog. When he continued whimpering and wouldn't relent in biting her pant leg, I had to tie him up to the back of the RV. That night, I was going to sleep in the camper with Carol, Sophia, Sky, Daryl, and T-Dog. Dale was nice enough to let us have the camper to ourselves, though we let T-Dog have the couch since he was still very sick from his arm injury. We took the sling off of Sky's arm and she seemed to be able to move her shoulder better, though it was still not entirely healed and sore. Only a week and a half old wound or so. I couldn't believe it had only been that long ago at the CDC. Sky seemed to be doing better. The two girls were to share the queen sized bed in the back of the camper. I noticed Carol placing an ear against the closed door. "What is it?" I asked.

She held her hand at me to stop, after a few moments, Carol sat at the small table with me. "I heard Sophia talking, I think I heard Sky talking too." she stated.

"So she isn't dumb after all." Daryl interjected, laying on his sleeping bag on the floor.

I glared at him. "Of course not, you idiot. She's a very smart girl."

"Smart girls talk. I ain't seen a word from 'er mouth."

"Sky watched her mother get murdered in front of her own eyes. Remember that, Dixon."

"Tough."

Now I was livid. "Yeah, not everyone can be as tough and heartless as you, Daryl. She's only six years old. So cut her a fucking break." I hissed at him, before sipping on my Sprite. I had enough of Daryl being so smug and cold to me as well as everyone else around here. Daryl scoffed with contempt, before rolling over to have his back facing me.

"At least I'm glad Sky is starting to talk, hopefully someday she can talk again and tell me her real name." I admitted.

The door slowly opened and Sophia walked towards us. Sophia had her short orange hair combed nicely and wore her purple silky pajamas. She sat down to her mother before giving her a long hug. Carol turned to her daughter. "You ready to go to bed?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell you something. You and Anza."

"What?"

Sophia turned to me. "Thank you for saving me as best as you could. Things could have been a lot worse if you hadn't of found me, and Sky, of course."

I lowered the warm can of Sprite I was drinking to counter the effects of all the alcohol I drank. I didn't know if I was drunk or what not, but I didn't like the way Sophia phrased that.

_As best as you could?_ Fuck did that mean?

Sophia then looked up to her mother, who was smiling down upon her angel. "And Mom...I just wanted to say thank you for being so strong through all of this. You had to deal with Dad bein' an asshole to you and me our whole lives. Now, we're finally free of him. I don't care about the walkers We're free, we're happy." Sophia stated. "I just want you to stay strong and stay happy like this always...for me. No matter what happens to any of us. I know we can still be happy."

Carol rubbed Sophia on the shoulder. "Of course, dear. You are all that matters to me in the world."

I noticed Sophia give a half smile, she didn't seem to particularly like Carol's answer to that I was getting a strange vibe from this. I didn't know if it was me or the effects of alcohol. I assumed the latter. "Was Sky talking to you just now?" I inquired, trying to change the subject.

Sophia nodded with a light smile on her face. "Yeah, she started talking to me today."

"What has she been saying?"

"Just talking to me about life and her family," Sophia answered, looking at the floor. "She even told me her real name."

I smiled in delight. _"Really?_ What is it?"

Sophia gave me a smug smile, cross her arms. "I can't tell you, it's a secret."

"Ha ha, okay." I gave up, too drunk to press for more answers. Sophia gave out a really hard cough. It sounded like she was choking for a moment until Carol gave her some water to drink. Sophia guzzled it down before getting up and bringing back the pile of photos she took today. A photo of me drinking, sticking my tongue out to the camera, Daryl glaring at the camera, Rick and Lori, Carl and Shane, a depressed Andrea and Dale, Sophia and her mother, Sophia and Sky, Sophia with Carl and Sky, and the photos went on. She took a photo with just about everybody. Then, of course, those dozens of selfies Sophia took. "Um, I'm gonna go to bed now." Sophia then said, awkwardly. "I love you."

"Okay, goodnight, sweetheart." Carol said to her daughter. "I'll be out here if you need anything."

Sophia nodded once. "Please look after Sky too. She doesn't have a Mom to run too."

"Of course, Sky is like my second daughter."

Pleased with the answer, Sophia got up and walked to the bedroom down the camper. That reminded me of something. I dug through the bag looking for the plush doll that Sophia owned. Found it. I nearly tripped over Daryl and crashed into the side of the RV.

"Watch it, clutz." Daryl snapped, after almost getting stepped on by me. I ignored him and continued down the RV. I opened the door to see Sophia and Sky look up at me. They were sitting on the bed, it looked like they had been talking just before I opened the door. There were some intense looks on their faces. "Hey, you dropped this when the bandits attacked. Managed to pick it up before we ran off." I explained, handing Sophia the doll. She just stared at it. "Good night ladies." I then smiled at the girls, shutting the door behind them.

After a few moments, Sophia tossed the doll against the wall. Her face was hardened and expressionless. Sophia turned to Sky, who pulled out a couple of clean bandages from underneath the pillow. Sophia sighed once, pulling up her purple pajama leg. She wrapped the bandage around the bloodied bite mark on the side of her leg.

* * *

When I was fully awake, I grumbled once and stretched from inside my sleeping bag. I was still kind of drowsy from last night's binge drinking. Luckily, I had the tolerance for it. To some degree. I quickly got up and grabbed a can of Sprite. The Sprite would help with the slightly sick feeling I was getting. I noticed an empty sleeping bag beside me. Daryl was already up. T-Dog was slightly snorting in his sleep, which made me chuckle. I grabbed Sophia's camera and turned the flash off. I quickly snapped a picture of T-Dog snoring. He was stretched out across the couch-bed with his mouth dangling open. This picture was too good to be true.

On the floor, Carol was sleeping soundlessly. It was probably the first night that Carol had gotten a good night's rest. It certainly had for me. I was sick of sleeping on the ground with all the nasty bugs and in the trees. I decided to change into some clothes and make some breakfast for everyone. Time to wake the girls up first, I thought to myself.

* * *

"There you go, boy." Daryl said, lowering the doggy bowl of chopped up squirrel meat on the ground. He had gone hunting that morning to find food for Walker. The wolfdog quickly scarfed it all down. Daryl stroked his ears for a few moments before he heard what sounded like sniffling. He turned to his side to see Sky sitting on the highway guardrail, her arms crossed and crying softly to herself. Daryl groaned once, deciding to go check on the mute child. He decided to cut the girl a break for all she had been through and see what was wrong. Daryl walked around the rail and stepped in front of Sky. He knelt in front of her to make direct eye contact. Her cheeks were stained with tears. She looked utterly lost.

"What's wrong, kid?" Daryl asked.

Sky did't say anything. Her body continued to shake as she wept. Daryl sighed once, looking momentarily at the ground. "Look, Sky, I can't help you unless you tell me what is wrong." he stated. Sky didn't so much as look at him or acknowledge his existence. She continued to just stare out in the middle of the forest and cry. Daryl noticed that she was tightly holding onto the doll that Sophia had. Feeling that he couldn't get any answers out of Sky or that he could even help this damaged child, Daryl got up and retreated. Sky slowly turned around to Daryl.

"It's Sophia." her voice croaked.

Daryl looked back at the little girl who had just spoken. _"What?"_ he asked.

Sky slid off the guard rail, her face now cringing as more tears spilled down her cheeks. She ran towards Daryl like a child would run to their parent when they were hurt. "It's Sophia!" she cried in his chest, bursting into tears. Sky wrapped her small arms around Daryl and began sobbing loudly. Daryl was stunned by this outburst of emotion from Sky and was unsure of what to do. Daryl hesitantly crouched down and held the crying Sky in his arms. "Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay, Sky. Calm down and just breathe," Daryl assured her, placing his hands on her shoulder. "Now what's wrong with Sophia?"

Sky managed to calm down a bit and take a few deep breathes. "She got bit." she sniffled.

Daryl's eyes widened. "What? When? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I never say anything, Daryl." croaked Sky, wiping her oozing nose. "It happened yesterday before we came back. Sophia didn't want me to tell her Mom. So, I just stayed with her last night until she started getting really sick...before she..._turned."_

His steel blue eyes widen with horror as Daryl looked up towards the RV. "Sophia is still in the camper is she?" Daryl asked with desperation in his voice. Sky nodded at him, sniffling once. Daryl cursed to himself, grabbing his hunting knife from the table and running towards the camper. Sky slowly sunk to her knees with despair for her friend. Walker padded softly towards her, licking the tears off her face.

* * *

"Does bacon sound nice?"

"It does, ugh, it really does." T-Dog grumbled, sitting up on the couch. He examined the bandage on his arm. Dale was gonna have to take a look at that. I placed a cooking pan on the stove. Carol moaned once, stirring in her sleeping bag. She scratched her short graying hair.

"First time I've slept this good in ages." she sighed.

"Try sleeping on the ground and in a tree for a few nights, that's what me, Sophia, and Sky had to do." I pointed out before laughing. I opening the freezer door. There was a loud pounding of fists on the door. "Someone's awake," I snickered. After I said that, the banging only grew louder. I could hear Sophia or Sky yelling and growling from the other side of the door. I ignored it at first, until they began kicking in the bedroom door. Were they trying to put dents in the door?

Now, I was getting a little irritated. "Okay, stop that!" I yelled, opening the bedroom door. The moment I did, I was suddenly tackled to the ground by Sophia. Her face was only inches from mine. Sophia snapped her jaws around my arm. I never expected human teeth to dig into flesh like that, but Sophia sure did. Blood spurted out from where was biting me. I cried out once, punching her in the face until she let go. I kicked her off before Sophia could rip a chunk of my arm out like that walker did to Amy.

"What the fuck?!" T-Dog exclaimed, jumping off of the couch. All three of us backed up into the front of the camper, all huddled closely together with confusion and horror. I clutched my now profusely bleeding arm. Sophia growled at me like an animal would stalking its prey. Her skin was starting to turn yellow with black cycles under her now amber eyes. I longer saw the sweet and kind Sophia that I used to know. Now, something else possessed her body.

A walker.

Only anger and aggression filled her body now. "She's a_ walker?_" I screamed. "What the everlasting fuck is going on?"

"She has a bite on her leg, look!" T-Dog shouted, pointing to her leg. I saw it for just a moment. As Sophia had gotten up, there was a bloody bite mark on her leg. Her purple pajama legs covered it when got to her feet. "What the_ fuck?_ I didn't see that!" I shouted.

Sophia charged for us with a loud roar. I quickly grabbed her, spun her around, and held Sophia in an arm look. The door swung open and Daryl had his hunting knife out. He stopped in his tracks. Sophia started snarling at Daryl, trying to move towards him. I easily overpowered Sophia, continuing to hold her back. "Fuck." cursed Daryl.

Carol fell to her knees, clutching her mouth in horror. She let out a loud blood curdling cry.

* * *

"When the fuck did this happen?" I stammered, struggling to restrain the zombified Sophia. "She was just fine yesterday!"

We were all gathered around in a circle while I held back Sophia. I guess I was the only one that could. I couldn't get infected, but that didn't mean Sophia couldn't rip my guts out and still kill me. But, since I was strong enough to restrain Sophia, they didn't intervene. We would've killed Sophia if she had just been another walker. The problem was that she wasn't just another walker. She was our friend. We didn't want to just kill her.

"Sky told me that she got bitten by a walker yesterday." Daryl stated. "Did you know anything about this?"

"No, I didn't even know she was fucking bitten till just now!" I answered loudly. Sophia let out an animalistic yell at Daryl, trying to lunge for him. I continued to restrain Sophia in an arm lock. "Was Sophia near any walkers?" Rick asked like the detective he was.

My eyes widened with horror. That was when I remembered. It must have been when I had gone to get water from the creek. Sophia had shot a walker with a gun. Now that I thought about it, that dead walker was resting on top of Sophia's leg when I arrived. It must have bitten her on the leg just before she killed it and Sophia must have covered the wound up with her pant legs. "Yes—now that I think about it—" I stuttered, holding back the raging zombie Sophia. "I thought she–killed the damn walker though! I didn't know she was bitten!"

Lori was comforting Carol, who was balling her eyes out, unable to cope with the situation. Daryl couldn't bare to look at Sophia while Dale, T-Dog, and Glenn merely stared with sadness. Sky and Carl sat far away from us on the guard rail. Andrea stood in front of them, watching the situation from a far. I wondered if it reminded her of Amy.

Sophia momentarily broke free from my grasp. I quickly grabbed her by a wrist before she could attack Rick. One of her arms broke free to claw me on the side of the face with her sharp nails. I managed to put her into another arm lock before she could sink her teeth into me. The zombified Sophia let out a yell in frustration at not getting her next meal. Blood poured down the side of my face.

"Rick, we have to put her down." Shane whispered to his partner. "We don't have a choice."

Rick looked at the girl who was once Sophia, then to the sobbing Carol. "I know, this just doesn't make it any easier." he stated.

"Hey, this is Carol's daughter!" I then exclaimed to them. "This isn't just another walker, Shane! This is Sophia!"

"I know, but the fact is that Sophia is dead!" Shane yelled back. "We have to do what must be done! I know it sucks, but this is reality! The Sophia we knew is gone! Sophia wouldn't be trying to rip out your neck and eat ya right now!"

Deep down I knew that Shane was right and that we were going to have to put down Sophia. I just couldn't stand the thought of it. Carol just sat there deep in thought for a few moments. She must have been in shock. Walker was just going fucking insane. He was barking and snarling like crazy at Sophia. Even he knew that the little girl was no longer the same person. She was now just a walker. The others went over to console Carol and tell her what had to be done. Daryl stood next to me in case I couldn't control Sophia. A look of pity and sorrow covered his face as he stared at the beastly creature I held back. This poor child now a monster.

Carol wiped away a few tears with a Kleenex before blowing her nose. "Shane is right. That isn't my daughter. She's dead."

"B-But, I survived the infection, maybe we could keep her until we get a cure-" I began.

"-We already tried that, Anza, we all know how that ended. The CDC is proof enough," Shane interrupted. "And besides, we can't keep Sophia alive. It would be too dangerous to all of us."

I was silenced. I remembered what they did to us at the CDC. They didn't care about any of us. They just wanted me for the cure. When Jacqui had objected to them taking me, they shot her point blank in the head. I continued to hold onto Sophia, who continued to growl and roar at the others. Carol stood up, wiping away her tears. "We'll do it in the forest, I don't want Sky and Carl to see this." she managed to say in a calm voice. "Then, we'll bury her in the church cemetery, if that's alright with you."

We immediately agreed, anything to appease the grieving Carol. Dale handed Shane a shovel and gave Rick some rope. Carol sniffled once, walking down the slope into the forest. I had a bit of a hard time getting Sophia down the hill. So, the others waited until I was at the bottom of the slope with Sophia before following after us. After walking for about a half an hour towards the church in the middle of the woods, we came to a stop. I grabbed the zombified Sophia by the neck and pinned her down against the tree. Her arms were outstretched towards me, before she decided to scratch and rake her claws across my arms. It hurt the worst when Sophia raked my bleeding bite wound that she also gave me.

I gritted my teeth through the sharp pain. The scratch marks began to swell red a little bit, with a small trail of blood forming. Sophia had also clawed open the bite wound she gave me, blood starting to pour through the scabs that had just formed. Sophia's teeth and nails were so formidable. Rick held down Sophia's arms while Daryl and Shane tied up Sophia against the tree trunk. We all stepped back a few feet away. The walker who was once Sophia continued to grumble and moan, trying to break free from the ropes to no avail. "I'm her mother, so I must do it." Carol stated, holding the revolver. It trembled in her hands as she held it to Sophia. I placed my hand on Carol's, forcing her to lower the gun.

"No." I stated, firmly. "No parent should ever have to do something like this. We will do it."

Carol continued to shake. She looked like she was about to pass out. I pried the gun away from her trembling hand.

"It's okay, Carol." I assured her. "I've got this."

"T-Thank you so much, Anza." Carol quivered with tears. She held back more cries for the worst. I exhaled deeply before turning off the safety. Carol then covered her arms, no longer having Sophia to hold to make her feel safe. Shane and Rick were staring at me, unsure if I should do this.

"If you want, one of us can do it." Daryl offered. "This isn't somethin' ya should do either."

I had no emotion on my face. Underneath, I was burning in pain. I was holding back from crying just as badly as Carol was. Only a single tear formed from my drastically watering eyes. I lifted and aimed. "It's okay, I've got this."

Carol took my free hand and placed it in hers, squeezing tight. The blood from Sophia's bite ran down my arm into her hand. I looked to Carol once, she reluctantly nodded once. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang. I opened my eyes to see a small bloody hole in the middle of Sophia's forehead. Her yellow eyes rolled to the back of her head as she slumped over against the rope. Her short red hair covered Sophia's face.

I lowered my arm as Carol turned and wrapped her arms around me. I dropped the gun and held Carol tightly. She sobbed loudly into my shoulder while Daryl looked at me with pained eyes. I could hear the church bells ringing again. That automated timer had come on just in time. I wondered if God was ringing the bells for Sophia.


	17. Run

Daryl was in the lead while we slowly made our way through the woods. Rick and Shane were on either side of me. We all held our guns. Rifle, shotgun, and revolvers. For Daryl, his hunting crossbow. "You sure this is the way, princess?" Daryl said in a low voice to me.

I nodded back. "Positive." I had a pretty good memory. We had been out here scavenging for the bandits after about a two hour walk. I was retracting my steps from where I had ran away. The trees partially shielded us from the merciless sun beating down on us. "Stop!" hissed Daryl, raising his hand to us. We all quickly squatted down on the slightly sloped up hill. Daryl motioned for us to come forward, he slowly crawled up towards the top. Me, Rick, and Shane inched through the small trees until we were beside Daryl. We all laid on our stomachs with Rick looked through his binoculars. I saw the reason why Daryl had stopped us: There were three large camps with supplies gathered around them.

"This has to be their camp." I whispered.

"I don't see anybody home though," Rick stated, lowering the binoculars. Shane loaded a few rounds into his pump auto shotgun. "Only one way to find out." he grumbled, getting onto his feet. The leaves crunched underneath our feet as we slowly slithered in between the trees towards their camp. Daryl approached once of the tents with his hunting knife drawn. He positioned himself outside of the tent before ripping it open. We all had our guns raised. Daryl shook his head. Rick and Shane quietly checked the other two tents. "Empty," reported Shane. "Think we should wait for these assholes?"

"Hershel, the man who stitched my head, said that there were twenty to thirty of these men." I explained in a low voice. "We can't take them all on."

"They must be movin' around and switchin' through camps to keep safe." Daryl guessed. We heard a snap from behind the trees. We were all on the defense with our guns drawn. "Steady," whispered Rick.

"Who's there?" Shane demanded, holding onto his handgun. "Show yourself or we'll shoot!"

Carl immediately poked his head out from behind a tree trunk. Sky also emerged from a bush. We all exhaled in relief that they weren't bandits. We lowered our weapons. "What the fuck are you two doing out here?" I exclaimed, bearing down on Carl and Sky. "You should be back at camp!"

"I'm sorry, guys. I just wanted to come with." Carl reasoned. "Someday I gotta learn how to fight, right?"

"I'll teach you how to fight, but not today," stated Rick, in a calm yet authoritative voice. "You could've been killed and what's worse is you brought Sky with you!"

"Sky is strong! She's a better fighter-" began Carl.

Rick shook his head. "-I don't care, you disobeyed me and put yourself in danger. You are in big trouble when we get back to camp."

Carl stared down at the ground with shame.

Rick then turned to Sky and pointed. "Same goes for you."

The two kids looked to each with frowns on their faces. Sky looked to me for a rescue. I crossed my arms, letting her know that I wasn't going to save her. Carl groaned once, throwing his arms over his head and spinning around. He began walking back towards the trees. "Should we ransack this place first before we leave?" suggested Shane, kicking the pot of boiling water over the dying fire. Before Rick could answer, there was a loud gunshot. My heart missed a beat.

Carl let out a pained cry, falling backwards onto the ground. He clutched his stomach, where blood was now pouring. _"CARL!"_ Rick screamed on the top of his lungs. Rick tried to run towards his son, but more shots were fired from the woods. I could hear shouting from the woods. Daryl threw down a table for cover, knocking all of the supplies to the dirt ground. Shane grabbed Rick and threw him behind the table, restraining him from reaching his son. _"HE'S MY SON! LET ME GO!"_ Rick screeched, spit flying from his mouth. _"LET GO OF ME, SHANE! YOU SON OF A BITCH!"_

"You'll die out there if you do!" Shane hollered back, putting his partner in an arm lock. Rick tried to wrestle out of Shane's grasp to get to his son. Now, was now the fucking time to panic. I hid behind the table and instantly noticed that Sky was gone. I gasped as I saw her going after Carl. "Sky, get back here!" I screamed at her. I tried to run out there, but Daryl grabbed me from behind with my arms. He threw me into the dirt ground behind the table, sitting on top of me to prevent me from moving further. "Daryl, get off of me!" I shrieked at him. "I'm not burying three dead kids!"

"And I'm not burying four dead kids!" Daryl shouted back.

Sky was moving very quickly in a crouch. A couple of bullets hit the dirt ground just inches away from Sky. That didn't deter her from trying to reach the injured Carl at all. Sky grabbed his left arm with both of her small hands and dragged him across the dirt as quickly as she could. Sky was still getting fired out. These bandits must have had shit aiming.

When they were within five feet, Shane and Rick quickly pulled Sky and Carl behind the wooden table. More bullets were scattered against the thick table. "Good job, Sky!" Daryl yelled, as he blasted a bandit in the face that had peered out from behind a tree. Carl was coughing in intense pain as Rick hurriedly ripped open his shirt to see the wound. Blood was pouring profusely from the hole in his stomach. "Oh God, oh God, oh God, please no." Rick began crying, grasping the face of his dying son. "Please, please!"

I crawled beside Rick. "Wait, I know a place where we can take him! The doctor who treated me doesn't live far from here!" I shouted to him over the gunfire. "We can take him there!"

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!" Daryl yelled. "They're coming down here!"

"Which way?" demanded Shane, eyeballing me.

I pointed in the opposite direction of the bandits. "It's a few miles that way, you shouldn't miss it!"

"Rick, I need you here!" Daryl hollered, firing more rounds from one of my revolver.

"My son needs me!" Rick screamed.

I placed my rifle in front of Rick. "Shane is right! You are needed here!" I stated. "I'll take Carl to the farm!"

"You're going to go out there alone?!" cried out Rick. A couple more gunshots were fired just above our heads.

"Sky will cover me!" I yelled, handing her my silver handgun and my revolver. She held each gun in her hand. Rick wasn't at all convinced by what I told him. But, I had already lifted Carl up, grabbing his two arms and pulling him onto my back. Rick looked at me frantically. He didn't have much of a choice as a couple of bandits were making their way toward us. Daryl shot one in the stomach with a crossbow, before stabbing the other with a hunting knife.

_"Go!"_ Daryl roared. _"Now!"_

I got up onto my feet, holding Carl in a piggy back. I could already feel his blood pouring against my back. "Carl, stay with me, okay?!" I said to him, his head dangling over my shoulder. Carl groaned once. Me and Sky made a mad dash into the forest. It was very difficult running through the forest with Carl bouncing on my back. Plus, his arms were just dangling over my shoulders. That made Carl more prone to slipping backwards. Sky tucked one of the guns into her coat, before grabbing one of Carl's hands to prevent him from falling off my back. The heat pounded against my ribcage with each ragged breath. My legs began feeling like cement blocks after five minutes of sprinting. My heart was beating too fast. It felt like someone was standing on it. But, I didn't care. Carl was going to die if I didn't get there in time. I vowed not to stop until I reached the farm.

I didn't know how long we ran. I continued to wheeze loudly. My mouth was dry and my lips were starting to crack.

Carl. Carl. Carl.

The only word running throughout my mind.

Carl is gonna to die if I don't make it to the farm in time. I let Sophia die, I'm not going to let another little kid die. I felt myself running slower and slower as time passed. My legs and running becoming more sluggish. Pain was shooting throughout my entire body. When Sky noticed that, she grabbed my hand and forced me to run faster. I was relieved when I saw the familiar green and yellow leaves on the ground. A few yards away from me was the willow tree that I had slept in a few nights ago, where I had saved Beth. "We're close!" I shouted, with all of my strength. That gave me the resolve to finish this. I just hoped the others would be okay.

I ran through the brush of trees until reaching the clearing. "There it is!" I exclaimed. The nice two story house next to the barn and stables. I pushed myself past my limits. With my heart about to burst out of my chest, I then sprinted across the field of tall grass as fast as I could. I had no energy to go on but the strength of will. Beth, who was sitting on the swing, got up and saw me running towards her with Sky.

"Anza?" she hollered to me.

"Help! This boy has been shot!" I screamed to her as loudly as I could across the field. Beth quickly ran inside to get help. By the time we arrived at the porch, Hershel and Patricia came rushing out of the house. I drudged into a slow stop with Carl still dangling helplessly on my back. "What the hell happened?" Hershel asked, urgently.

"Attacked_–_by–bandits–please–help–" I wheezed in between words, unable to catch a breath. I felt like knives were being stabbed into every part of my rib cage. A burning heat was shooting throughout my entire body, my legs the most sore out of all of it. Sky was panting just as heavily too. Suddenly, she fell to her hands and knees and began puking onto the grass. We were forced to ignore it.

"Pat, get everything upstairs!" Hershel said loudly.

Patricia immediately nodded and ran inside the house. "Can you carry the boy upstairs?" Hershel then asked in a calmer voice, walking fast alongside me

"Yes." I breathed.

I probably didn't even have the strength for that. At the same time, I didn't want to waste a single second of time. The both of us ran into the house and up the killer fucking stairs, which almost destroyed me even though it was like five steps. I nearly crumbled under the pain and lack of breathing. "Alright, give him to me." Hershel said. I allowed Carl to fall backwards into Hershel's arms. The old man wasn't exactly strong, but the queen sized bed was only a few feet away. He laid Carl onto his back. The boy was already deathly pale. His entire shirt was absolutely drenched with blood. The back of my shirt was covered in his blood too. I could feel it and it was sticking to my back. It only made me feel even more sick.

Patricia brought the familiar large kits filled with surgical instruments and medicine. Everything a doctor needed. "The boy is losing blood fast." Hershel stated. "We're going to need a blood transfusion quick if we are to keep him alive."

I cursed under my breath, my heart still pounding. I couldn't donate blood since I was a girl. I could feel myself becoming more drowsier and drowsier the longer I stood. My stomach was so sore. It was like I got hit multiple times in the stomach with a baseball bat. I began to retch and instantly knew I was going to puke. I suddenly began hurling onto the floor, coughing in between spurts of vomit. Hershel looked at me for a moment, before returning to work. I still couldn't breathe while I vomited. A knife was in my chest. The vomit was preventing me from breathing. I collapsed onto the ground, falling into a blackness.

"She's fine, Pat!" I heard the drowned out voice of Hershel exclaim. "Leave her be!"

I was in the deepest ocean. I could tell since I saw a few bubbles float before me. I was in the Mariana trench. There were voices coming from the bottom of the cold water. It felt really good. Suddenly, all of the pain was gone.

"What the fuck is going on, Dad?" a woman's voice demanded.

"Maggie, Beth, take that girl into the other room! This boy has been shot!" said the voice of...Hershel? Was that his name? My eyes flung open as I was ripped away from the ocean. I felt a warm liquid running down in between my legs. I instantly knew what it was. "Ugh!" I exclaimed with disgust. "I think I just pissed my pants!"

I was so embarrassed, but I could tell that nobody else cared at the moment. Maggie grabbed one arm while Beth grabbed the other. They lifted me up, but I was too weak and sore to stand. They dragged my feet across the wooden floor as they brought me to another room. I could feel the ocean pulling me away into a sea of unconsciousness. I was in the state of in between. The calm ocean was beckoning me though. I could already see the current pulling me away from this world. So, I gave in and passed out again.


	18. That's What Keeps You Alone

I felt like I was floating in warm water. The air was very thick to breathe in. But, it had a nice mountain like aroma to it though. I wasn't in the deep dark ocean like I was before. There were voices down here too. _"I put her in the bathtub, but I ain't fuckin' scrubbin' er!"_ said a sassy femalie voice.

_"Well we can't just leave either, she might drown."_

_"This is so weird."_

_"No it's not, we're all women, Maggie."_

Since when could fish talk? I slowly realized that I wasn't in the ocean. I was sitting naked in a bathtub filled with warm water. Why the fuck was I naked?! My hands sprang to the sides of the tub. I immediately thought the worst until I saw that Maggie, Beth, and Sky were sitting beside me. I covered my chest, even though I knew we were all girls. I coughed once throughout the steam from the hot bath. "What am I doing here? I was on the floor a second ago." I nearly exclaimed.

"You passed out, but you also peed your pants and fell down in your puke." Maggie calmly explained, sitting on a stool next to me. She looked less then pleased to be here. Though I guess I couldn't blame her.

I groaned once. "Did I seriously pee my pants?"

"Yeah, it happens sometimes when you pass out. You don't have control over your bladder."

"Oh." I replied. Then I remembered the situation. "Wait, is Carl alive? Where is he?" I nearly exclaimed. Maggie got off the stool. "He's alright for now. Hurry up and take your bath." she said, somewhat coldly. With that, she got up and left. Beth awkwardly left with Sky in tow. I grabbed the soap bar on the side of the tub and worked up a lather with a small towel. I hastily washed myself within five minutes. I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a clean towel around my mid section. I heard what sounded like Carl screaming. I quickly put on my clothes, not bothering to fully dry myself off. I burst into the room to see Carl squirming on the bed and screaming in pain as Hershel was digging into the wound. Rick was screaming and crying on top of his lungs. "Stop it!" he cried out. "You're killin' him!"

Shane and Daryl were restraining him from bashing Hershel's head in. Sky was standing in the corner with her hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face. I just stood there. It didn't look like Hershel was trying to remove the bullet. After a moment, Hershel stopped probing at Carl's wound. Carl stopped screaming from the pain. I was disturbed at how deathly pale his skin was. Carl breathed deeply, sweat dripping from his face. When the room was quiet and everyone wasn't tense, Hershel spoke up. "His belly's distended, his pressure's dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. I'm betting that the bullet nicked one of his blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm doing so. I mean, at all. If he's moving around and screaming like he was before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes." Hershel explained. "To do this, I have to put im to sleep. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own." I'll need a respirator, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures."

I could see the horror on Rick's pale face. I saw a redness under his eyes. He looked so weak right now, like he was about to fall over. "If you had all that, you could save him?" Daryl asked.

Hershel pursed his lips. "I could try."

"The nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago, Hershel." Patricia reminded him, who had been standing by the bed restraining Carl moments earlier. I banged my head on the door frame. "Great." I growled.

"But, I know that the high school has those materials." Hershel interjected. "They set up a FEMA shelter there. Place was overrun with diseased though. You wouldn't be able to get near it."

"Like that's going to stop us," I stated. "Write down a list of all the materials you need and we'll get them."

Shane placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "No, it's too dangerous for a kid like you."

"I'm not a fucking kid anymore, I know how to fight!" I objected, shaking his hand off my shoulder. Sky walked up beside me and tugged at my hand. Her eyes looked up at me pleadingly. She didn't want me to go. Otis stepped in. "I'll go. I know where the high school is and I know what the supplies looks like. I was an EMT there." Otis explained. "I think me and Shane can handle this."

"And you have to take care of Sky," Daryl reminded me. "Don't leave her an orphan again."

I never thought of myself as Sky's mother. She was young enough to be my sister and that was all I thought of her as. But, Shane was right. I pretty much was her guardian at this point. I needed to stay and be with her. Although I wasn't so sure about the overweight Otis going with Shane. I figured that they would be alright. I sighed with defeat. I had five guns left, though they were all short on ammo. I gave Shane my auto pump shotgun and my silver handgun. "Be careful." I warned them.

"Always am." replied Shane. He stepped into Rick's silver car with Otis in the passenger seat. I reluctantly walked back to the house. I sat on the swing chained to the porch ceiling. It swiftly creaked as I slowly rocked in it. The door opened and there stood Daryl. He looked at me once before sitting himself beside me. I was deep in thought. "Hey," Daryl said, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Hi," I breathed back.

"How you doin'? You feelin' better after runnin' that marathon?" chuckled Daryl.

"I'm okay now. But, damn, fucking exhausted. I ran til I puked, pissed, and passed out. I was so afraid that Carl was gonna die." I sighed.

"Yeah, but he didn't." Daryl replied, turning to me. "Thanks to you and that lil' girl of yours." He stopped for a moment before continuing, "I've never seen a kid as veracious as Sky. She just ran out there and dragged Carl back without a thought. Brave lil' girl. Sky knows how to survive in this world."

I didn't laugh at all. My arms were folded across my chest. I was silent in deep thought. "Sometimes that worries me, Daryl." I admitted. "She never smiles, she never talks, the guns, the killing, the death...how is that something to be proud of?"

Daryl shrugged once. "I never said it was something to be proud of. It's just something that needs to be done."

"And you have no problem with it! Well I do, Sky is a child. She should be living, not surviving. She's broken...and I can't fix her."

"That's what keeps her alive, cupcake." reasoned Daryl. "That's what keeps me alive."

His responses were making me even more angrier. I stood up to my feet. "No, that's what keeps you alone." I retorted.

I turned to walk away when I felt Daryl grab my hand. I tried to pull away, but Daryl stood up and firmly held onto my wrist. His calloused hand held mine firmly. He yanked me to him. "You need to get this, girl. We have to do what we have to do." Daryl reasoned. "I know it sucks. If I could have it any otha' way, I would. But, I can't."

He still held my hand. I momentarily looked at it once, before staring back at Daryl. He was looking at me differently. There was a certain softness in his facial expression and his eyes. No smugness or cruelty in his eyes. Why was he looking at my different?

I got scare and drew back from Daryl, he immediately let go. Now, this was awkward and weird. Daryl was so close to me. It was here that I could really see how much he towered over me. Daryl could rest his chin on my head, that's how short I was. I heard Daryl draw in a breath before leaning towards my face. My heart was pounding against my chest. What was he doing? I was too unsure of what to do and just stood there.

Daryl hesitated a moment before looking away. Someone else was here watching us.

"Um," said another voice. It was Beth. She was standing at the porch just looking blankly at us. I could already feel my face grow hot in embarrassment. How long was she there.

Daryl exhaled once. "Yes, what is it, blondie?"

"Sky is gone."

"Did you check the house and the compound?" I asked, calmly. We couldn't just jump to conclusions.

"Um, she left this note on our dining table." Beth stated, handing it to me. I opened the letter. It was written in pen. After reading it, my eyes widened in horror. "What is it?" Daryl asked.

"Sky went after Shane and Otis!"

* * *

Lori covered her face with her hands once I told her the news. Rick sat grogily in the chair. His skin was almost as pale as his dying son's was. The redness under his eyes was profuse. He was so weak from blood loss. "Do you think she went on foot?" I asked. "I'm guessing she snuck into the trunk of Otis's car." Lori took the note from me and read it. "She blames herself for what happened to Carl." she muttered.

"It wasn't her fault, it was an accident!" I nearly exclaimed. "I'm going after her!"

I tried walking out of the room, only for Daryl to grab my arm. "You can't go alone." objected Daryl.

"Then come with me." I simply stated.

"We don't have a car!"

"I can't just leave her!"

Rick exhaled once, thinking to himself. After a few moments he spoke. "I can't help when I'm like this, I've lost too much blood and I'm probably going to have to give more to Carl." Rick stated. "You two go after Sky, and help Shane and Otis bring back the supplies."

Hershel also added his two cents. "I have an old pick up in the back that you can use."

I turned to Daryl. "That good enough for you, cowboy?"

Daryl rolled his eyes at me, before grabbing his crossbow off the table. The both of us of walked out of the house with our weapons. I brought one of my rifles. Luckily, one of the bandits used the same type of rifle ammo as the ones I got back in my Albany cabin. I only had seventeen rounds left though. "Here," Daryl said, tossing a machete to me. "Yer gonna need it." He got into the driver's seat of Hershel's pick up. I sighed once, before getting into the passenger seat. Daryl drove onto the dirt road that lead into town. I pulled out the map. It was starting to get dark out and it had been two hours. I wondered if they were alive. "Don't worry, prom queen." Daryl reassured me. "We'll find them."

"I hope so," I breathed.

**I have some bad news. One my previous chapters got deleted. It was called "An Unexpected Turn" when Anza was to be picked up by the military and taken to DC for a cure, however, they shot Jenner and Jacqui before unnecessarily kidnapping her. So, it just jumps to her being in the helicopter. I dont know if I'll re-write it. I'm upset because I put a lot of work into that chapter. Although it does jump since the chapter got accidentally deleted, it's still easy to pick up on.**


	19. Falling Skies

Daryl drove the pick up as fast as he could while making sure it was safe. We could still get into a car accident. My breathing was tense. Sky had snuck into the car Shane and Otis were in. I know that Sky was a tough girl, she was smart and unusually stoic for her age, but she was still a kid. I wondered if she burdened Shane and Otis by being there. My hands were clenched to the bone. Daryl noticed this and patted my leg as he drove. "Don't worry, I'm sure those three will be okay." he reassured me.

I bit at my nail. It was already dark by the time we reached the high school. We saw only a couple of walkers on the lawn. Daryl quickly dispatched them with his machete. Carl had found a pack filled with melee weapons like a machete and other cool tools from the abandoned highway. I held my rifle close to me. Daryl had his crossbow. "Let's go." he stated, as we trudged up the street. I was surprised that there were hardly any walkers out in the front at the high school. We hid on the wet grassy lawn. "Hershel said this place was loaded, I don't see any." I whispered.

"I see Rick's car over there, so they're here." Daryl informed me.

I stumbled over to the car to see if Sky was there. The car was empty and my heart sank. "Come on!" Daryl said to me in a low voice. We both crept around every corner. Still there were no walkers. I was just hoping and praying that they weren't feasting on Shane, Sky, and Otis.

Suddenly, we heard a couple of gunshots. We both immediately ran towards the direction it came from. As we did, we could hear the snarls, growls, and yells of walkers draw closer. We stayed by the corner of the red brick building we were against. There was a large crowd of walkers running towards a limping Shane. I couldn't see Sky or Otis though. "He needs our help!" I hollered, pressing my rifle into my shoulder. I looked into the scope and took aim. The moment I saw a walker's head in the crosshair I fired. It hit the walker straight in the head. Shane looked to see me and Daryl standing there. Some of the walkers took notice of us, instead making their way towards us. "We have to go!" Daryl stated.

We both ran out towards the front of the high school, looking the walkers through the maze of buildings. About five minutes later, an absolutely exhausted Shane appeared with the bag of supplies and a rifle. He collapsed on the lawn in front of us. "Where's Sky and Otis?" I asked.

"They—got eaten—" Shane panted. "There was nothing—I could—"

I cut him off before he could finish. The outrage had already taken me over. _"What?"_ I roared at him, grabbing Shane by his shirt collar and jerking him face-to-face with me. _"Why didn't you lock her in the fucking car?"_

"She snuck into the back of the trunk! We didn't see her until we were inside the fucking school!" Shane shouted back, defensively. "There was nothing I could do!"

I let go him, falling to my knees and breaking down in tears. I began sobbing loudly on the ground. I had never cried this hard before.

No.

Sky was dead.

It was all my fault.

I couldn't even protect her

"We gotta go!" Shane stated, tossing the rifle and dufle bag in Rick's car. I didn't move from my spot. Even as the screams and yells of the walkers drew near. I didn't care anymore. Now, I wanted to die again. Daryl wrapped his arms around my waist, forcefully picking me up and tossing me into Hershel's pick up. I felt like a rag doll the whole time. Lifeless and numb to my surroundings. Shane and Daryl quickly started up their cars as the crowd of walkers drew near. They quickly drove away before they ever reached us. The walkers faded into the back.

The moment we arrived back at the farm, Hershel rushed out of the house. Shane quickly gave him the supplies before telling him what had happened. I remained in Hershel's pick up. The tears stained my face as I trembled in my seat. Daryl was still in the pick up with me. "I failed...I'm a fucking failure..." I shivered. "Couldn't even protect one little girl...now, I really am alone. I deserve to be."

I covered my face as I began crying again. Daryl pursed his lips, unable to say anything. I quickly opened the door and ran out of the pick up inside the house. I threw myself onto the bed in Hershel's guest room. Hershel and Patricia were performing surgery on Carl.

Sky, how could you even think that was your fault? Carl is a kid. He was gonna be curious and ignorant about this world. You were just a kid too. It was sad that I always had to remind you of that. My cries stopped after an hour or so. I sat silently in the bed waiting for the results. Another hour passed of me laying in that bed, and Hershel emerged from the room. Carl was going to be okay. Tears of joy formed in Rick and Lori's eyes, they instantly embraced each other before thanking Hershel. They had tears of joy. I had tears of sorrow. I pulled the covers over my head, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

We collected rocks from around the farm. One by one, we stacked the rocks to form a grave for Otis. Patricia wanted us to go back to the high school to retrieve his remains and bury them there. But, she knew how risky it was. So we decided to make a memorial stone for him...and Sky...

We heard a loud rumble of a motorcycle. Daryl was riding his Harley alongside the dirt road. I saw the camper and my red station wagon following closely behind. We were all going to be together again...what was left of us anyway. Carol covered her mouth once she heard the news about Sky. She fell to her knees. "No, no, no...I promised Sophia I'd look after Sky and now she's..." Carol cut herself off with cries. It wasn't as much her fault as it was mine. Sky was my responsibility. I failed at that. Andrea covered her mouth, while Dale shook his head in sorrow. I felt Glenn pat me on the back. "I'm so sorry, Anza." he apologized.

I wiped away a tear. "Thanks, Glenn."

Hershel started the "funeral" by saying a series of prayers from the bible. He was definitely the religious type. Praising God for saving the life of Carl when it was really Hershel who did it...and Shane, and Otis, and...Sky...

When Hershel was done, he turned to Shane. "Shane, you were there in Otis and Sky's last moments. Would you like to say anything."

Shane looked stunned. He looked around nervously. "I, uh, I've never been good at this...I don't know what to say."

"Please," Patricia begged through a sob. "You were there for him, I need to know that his death had meaning. I need to know that the little girl didn't die for nothing either."

All eyes were on Shane.

We waited eagerly for him to say something or give a moving speech. Shane looked towards the ground awkwardly. "We were down to our last rounds. An entire heard was right behind me and Otis. 'You gotta save the boy,' that's what he said. Sky was there too, she said, 'It's my fault Carl got shot, please take care of him and Anza'. That was the first time I ever heard Sky spoke...and the last. Both remained behind to cover me. When I turned 'round they were—" He stopped himself. My lips trembled as more tears poured down my face. Patricia squeezed my hand once. We already knew the ending to this story. I turned and walked away from the stones. Rick led the group away to let Hershel and his people have time alone grieving over Otis. They began picking spots around the compound to pitch up tents and set up camp. I pulled out my tent. It was big enough to hold two people. Now, there was only one. I tossed the tent and sat on the dirt. I was all alone now.

Daryl picked up the tent package. "Need help, darlin'?" he asked, in his rough Southern accent.

I looked back at the dirt. "No, Sky will help me." I answered, blindly.

Daryl frowned at me. He began setting up my tent anyway.

"Well, I know how ya feel." Daryl sighed. "I have an empty tent to myself too. Every time I walked into that tent, I expect to see Merle on his bed cleanin' his rifle," he paused once, his eyes elsewhere. "But, I don't...jt only makes me realize that I'm alone now."

"You could share a tent with me." I suddenly blurted out.

Daryl made a queasy look at me. He got up after finishing pitching up my tent. "I dun think that's appropriate, darlin'." he stated, placing his hand on his lose belt. I stared back down on the dirt. "Yeah, sorry, it was a stupid idea." I muttered.

There was a woof.

Walker trotted over towards us and plopped himself beside me. The lazy animal. Daryl gave Walker a belly rub, the large wolfdog rolling over on his back as he did so. "You aren't alone, Walker is here to keep you company." Daryl said to Walker in a babying voice, before patting him a few times on the belly. I smiled once.

With that, Daryl walked away to get started on his own tent. Dale parked his camper beside the peach trees, providing more shade and cover for us. All of our tents were pitched close to the RV and the small grove of peach trees. Glenn and T-Dog shared one while Andrea and Carol shared the other. Shane got his own tent, which was a little far away from our campsite. I had forgotten that Daryl originally had his brother along for the journey. He was alone too.

Sky was gone.

I failed to protect her.

I got up and wandered away from camp. I walked across the vast acres of land filled with tall grass, before entering the woods. There were bandits and walkers around here but I didn't care anymore. I continued to walk forward without thinking. I couldn't do anything else. What was the point? I should've stuck to walking back when I had first run away. I should've just starved myself to death in the forest. I prolonged the lives of Sophia and Sky, only to watch them die a horrific death in the end. What was the point of that? I wasn't going to watch anyone else die anymore.

I walked and walked. Time made no differences to me as I walked through a bramble bush. I must have been out here for hours, but I didn't care anymore. I felt that time was frozen since the forest looked relatively the same. I stumbled often, but kept walking. It was starting to get dark. Finally, I tripped over something. I fell into the dirt ground, scraping my arms and knees in the process. I didn't bother getting up. I rolled onto my side and curled into a ball on the bracken. I just laid there through the canopy of trees. It soon became pitch black pretty quickly. My only source of light was the moon. It gazed down through the nightfall, through every crevice of every tree, reaching me.

I shivered, it was cold. I cold see my breath in the moonlight. It was pitch black for a very long time. I wondered if the others were searching for me. The only thing I could hear were crickets chirping in the distance as well as the occasional twig snapping nearby. I numbed myself to fear. I didn't care if a raccoon, or a deer, or a walker was there. I didn't care.

I heard someone shouting my name. It was far off in the distance though. I thought about answering, but I was too dazed to do anything. By the time I thought about answering, the calling had stopped. Sometime later, it began raining. It bothered me a little since it was already cold outside. I remained unchanging though, allowing the rain to soak me. Soon, the rain was very heavy, pouring very loudly across the grass and ground. The rain continued, and I could feel the water pooling underneath me. I suddenly saw a light. At first, it was a dim glow reflecting off the tree trunks in the distance. The light broke through the bushes, and I could see that it was a flashlight. They were looking for me.

"Anza."

The voice was scruffy with a Southern drawl, it was Daryl. He wasn't calling my name out, he was acknowledging that I had been found. I could feel his presence beside me. I slowly sat up in the hard rain and stared up at him. He was standing in front of me, just as drenched as I was. The rain was rolling off of Daryl's face. "Where you been, girl?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

How could I be alright? Nothing else mattered. I merely sat there against the tree trunk staring emotionlessly at him. Daryl held out his hand to me. "C'mon, the others are looking for you, let's go."

"She's gone."

_"What?"_

"She's gone." I muttered.

"Who? Sky?"

"She's gone." I let out a stifled cry, covering my face with my hands. My tears fit in perfectly with the rain rolling off my face. It was absolutely drizzling outside. I wondered if God was crying. I heard Daryl sigh once. In a quick motion, Daryl pulled me up from the ground and into his arms. I hung there, like a limp doll, as he carried me through the wet forest. My arms hung uselessly towards the ground. I held my head back, which kind of hurt my neck, and closed my eyes. The rain drilled into my face. "We can't have you goin' off in the deep end when things get tough, Anza." Daryl then said. "We have ta stick together at this point."

"She's gone though." I whispered.

I didn't say anything. It didn't seem like Daryl was struggling to carry me. I didn't weigh to much and he was pretty toned when it came to muscles. After a few minutes, I heard the babble of many voices. Daryl slowed as he approached the commotion.

"I've got her!" He called out to them.

The babble ceased as I heard people running through the wet ground towards me. I opened my eyes to see swirl of confused faces surrounding me. Rick, Shane, Jimmy, Glenn, T-Dog, Dale...

"Is she hurt?" Rick asked.

"No, I don't think so," Daryl told him. "She just keeps saying 'She's gone'."

"Oh for fuck's sake! _Really?"_ Shane cried out, grabbing at his shaved head. He turned around and began walking back to his tent through the rain. I opened my eyes to see that we were in the acres of landscape of the Greene farm. "Take her to Dale's camper." Rick instructed.

"Will do," Daryl said, a little breathless.

There were lights everywhere, held by the crowd walking with us. I felt like I was in a parade. Or a funeral procession. I would've preferred a funeral. I opened my eyes when I heard the RV door unlock. Rick was holding the door open for us. Daryl moved to the side, allowing us to enter without banging my head. Daryl set me down on the couch in the camper.

"I'm soaking wet," I objected feebly.

"It's okay," Dale said, covering me with a big towel. "Have you been hurt?"

It took me a second to think that through. Have I ever been hurt? The difference in the way Dale and Daryl said it seemed significant to me. Of course I was hurting. Sky was dead. I didn't answer. Carol stepped into the camper. "Is she okay?" she asked.

"It's Sky." Daryl said to her in a low voice. I could still here them though. Carol exhaled once, giving me a look of sympathy and sadness. After I dried myself off, Carol brought in some of my clothes to wear. I changed in the tiny bathroom in Dale's camper. I walked into the front of the camper. Dale sat at the table while Carol and Daryl sat on the couch. Carol handed him a towel to dry himself up.

I reluctantly sat down beside Daryl on the couch.

Dale turned to me, before going off on his lecture since the old man was wise. "I'm sorry you lost your Sky, but...you can't just keep running off when you're upset. Something could've happened to you, whether it be walkers or bandits. We were worried about you."

Then, it was Carol's turn to speak. She leaned towards me. "I know how you feel, I've lost Sophia. But...I have to stay strong. It's only now that I started to become happy. Ed is no longer here to torment me. Sophia is no longer in torment. But...I have to keep moving...I know my daughter would've wanted that. I can't break down like that. Not again."

I stared emotionlessly at them, before narrowing my eyes in anger. "I just learned that Sky died today and you already want me to move on? Give me a fucking break. Not everyone as the bright burning spirit that you or Master Yoda have over here." I hissed. "I'm not heartless."

Daryl jumped to his heart, instantly on fire. I could see that the anger just ignited on his face. _"Heartless?_ Who spent four hours in the rain lookin' for yer dumb ass?" he nearly screamed at me. I had never seen him this angry before. "And where is my fucking thank you!? A lil' gratitude migh' be nice!"

"Thank you! Ya happy now!?" I shouted back, also getting in his face. "Not everyone can be as numb as you!"

Those words seemed to sting at Daryl. He stepped away from me in shock. With that, I ran out of the camper and into my tent. I was quick to make sure the rain wouldn't hit me. When I entered the tent, I heard nothing but the rain coming down on the waterproof tent. I panted to myself, exhausted from the argument. I then sighed once. Why couldn't they understand how I felt? Now, we lived in a reality where the dead ruled the world. People dying was a normal thing nowadays. Just because people were dying like flies didn't mean that I wanted to numb myself to it. But, I knew it was only a defense mechanism triggered by the brain to prevent you from suffering further. And I had to fight to make sure I could feel these emotions. I curled up into my sleeping bag, looking to my empty side. I closed my eyes. I would never forget all of these people that died. I would suffer to remember and honor them.


	20. A Wound of the Heart

I woke up to sound of songbirds in the air. I rolled over in my sleeping bag, stretching and yawning as I did so. A new day to not look forward to. I didn't know how I was going to move on without Sky. I guess the same way I did when I lost my family in the outbreak, even before that, when I lost my mother. We never move on from death. You breathe in the air, but never quite feel the same after something like that. I hated that this was going to be an everyday thing for me now. I got up out of my sleeping bag, wearing a white camisole with pink pajama bottoms. There was a slight fog to the morning with dew all over the ground. It must have been early in the morning. I put on my slip ons to go find some water to brush my teeth and wash my face with. After pumping myself a bucket of water, I set it on the picnic table that Dale set up, and got to brushing my dark brown hair. I heard a loud mumbling noise. It came from Daryl's tent. At first I ignored it, then I thought I heard crying. "Please...no...stop father..." I heard Daryl say. He must have been having a nightmare.

Reluctantly, I got up and walked over to Daryl's tent to go wake him up. I unzipped it to see Daryl covered in sweat and moving relentlessly in his sleeping bag. His face was cringed with fear and pain. "Hit me with the belt...just not that."

I extended my hand out to wake him by grabbing his sweaty shoulder. Daryl continued to talk and mumble during his nightmare. "I dun want to take it off...don't hurt me...don't touch me there, please..."

My hand was frozen in the air. What he was saying greatly disturbed me. Daryl began crying in his sleep. It was getting worse. That only made me determined to wake him up. I placed a firm hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Daryl, wake up!" I said to him. "You're just having a bad dream."

His steel blue eyes flew open with shock. Within that second, they narrowed with intense anger and Daryl let out a yell. Before we both knew what had happened, a knife was stabbed into my chest. I gasped once, my mouth forming a perfect "O". It took a moment for both of us to realize that Daryl had just stabbed me. I collapsed backwards onto the tent floor, clutching my now profusely bleeding wound. The knife stood upright in my chest. It was lodged right in my heart. I groaned once, grabbing the blade. "Daryl...you mother fucking asshole..."

"Anza, please, please, don't die! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Daryl frantically said, grasping my face into his calloused hands. "I'm so sorry! It was an accident! Don't die!"

I could see the tears forming in his eyes, his face cringed with sorrow. I had never seen him like this before. It made me forget that I just got stabbed in the heart. For some reason, it didn't hurt as badly as I thought. It still hurt like hell, sharp pains were shooting throughout my chest. But, just not as bad as I thought it would. I just felt frozen, too numb to feel anything. "Don't just stand there..." I grumbled. "Go get Hershel."

His chin began to quiver as more tears flooded down his face. "Somebody help!" he cried out, rushing out of the tent. I laid there bleeding in the tent. My eyes wide open and my body paralyzed. I didn't dare look down to see the knife sticking out of my heart. That would only traumatize me further than I already was. What happened next was a blur. Daryl scooped me up and ran with me in his arms. All I could see was the bright blue sky, before seeing a white ceiling. I was set down on the bed. There were many voices and many faces surrounding me. Hershel looked into my eyes and began talking to me. "Anza, can you hear me? Are you there?" he asked, his voice really zoned out. It was like he was talking into a cup. I heard another person yelling out. Hershel gently pulled out the knife. I felt nothing. "She's in circulatory shock." Hershel said in a calm voice. I could barely hear him. Nor did I care to at this point. My eyes were still focused on the ceiling. I was in too much of a trance to do anything. I felt detached from the world around me. I was the person running happily through a meadow of flowers not giving a fuck. My feelings were pure ignorant bliss.

I blinked once and I suddenly woke up. I was no longer in my trance. I was now aware of the world around me. The room was no longer crowed and filled with yelling people. I could see that it was pitch black outside when only moments ago it was morning. Now, I was laying the guest room bed with my arm attached to an IV and a bag of saline water. Wasn't Carl sleeping in this bed? He was still injured. I tried sitting up, only for a sharp pain to shoot through my chest. I peered down at my chest to see that I was wearing a black tank top, still wearing the pink pajama bottoms though. There were stitches above my heart that extended to two inches. I survived getting stabbed in the heart?

I heard a noise from the side of the room. I turned to my left to see Daryl sleeping in a chair against the wall. I noticed a plate of untouched food on my bedside. I picked up the bread roll and grinned evilly to myself. I threw the bread roll at him, which bounced off his head and onto the floor. Daryl jolted in his side wide awake. "Hey." I smiled lightly.

I could see guilt upon his face as he looked at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright now just...don't know what that was back there." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. Daryl slightly bit his bottom lip. "I don't either." he agreed.

The door opened and Hershel walked in. "I see you're awake."

I shifted in my bed towards Hershel. "Yeah, but it was light out just a moment ago." I questioned, before looking down at the wound again. "Everything was so hectic, the knife in my chest and everyone around me...where'd they go? They just disappeared."

I also noticed that the stitches were removed from my wrist where the zombified Sophia had bitten me. So, I guess that the stitches I got from getting shot in the head by that bandit were gone too.

"You've been passed out for a week."

My eyes widened. _"A week?" _I nearly exclaimed. I couldn't believe it.

"Yes, you went into a state of shock from the situation, later passing out with your eyes wide open when I had to operate on you," Hershel explained. "You didn't even flinch when we performed surgery on you with no painkillers, not that we really had the time to drug you up. You had a knife in your chest."

"Oh man, I survived getting stabbed in the fucking heart?" I asked, still unable to believe it. "I didn't know it was possible. In the movies, it's like instant death."

"You'd be surprised, ninety percent of people survive stab wounds to the heart...at least...with immediate medical treatment and depending on the severity. Movies tend to get things wrong." Hershel continued, giving me a hard stare after stating that. I snickered once. "Well, they were right about one thing: zombies."

Hershel didn't say anything, he examined my bite mark from where Sophia had bitten me. It was nearly healed. "I'm no cardiologist, but I know that if that knife had plunged a centimeter deeper...Daryl would've severed your main artery and you would died within minutes." Hershel explained, looking me square in the eyes. I fell back on the bed taking this in. Death could never leave me alone for one minute. I could see Daryl looking away from me with shame. "I just get beaten up left and right, don't I?" I exhaled aloud.

Hershel grabbed my wrist to take my blood pressure. "You're a strong one, that's for sure. Surviving the infection is proof of that." he stated. "To be honest, I was more concerned about your state of shock than your stab wound to the heart."

_"Really?"_

"Yep, no matter how shallow a wound is, shock can play a strong role in making it worse like it did with you. Your blood pressure and breathing rate dropped during it."

I was then silent. He took my blood pressure, my temperature, and examined the wound once more. Hershel took out a sanitary napkin and began cleaning the drainage around the two inch incision above my heart. I cringed a little bit as it stung. "I'll give you some fentanyl to help with the pain and help you sleep." Hershel stated, injecting the liquid which I presumed was the fentanyl, into my IV with a syringe. "I don't want you moving around for the next couple of days," Hershel then gave Daryl a stare. "No visitors for more than twenty minutes everyday, afterwards you can gradually start walking around and interacting more. I don't want to put much pressure on your heart and I'm sure your little friend over here is more than enough to send your heart rate spiking."

"But, he's so pretty though." I joked, flashing a smile to Daryl. He gave a half smile at my attempt to cheer him up. Hershel continued as if I had never said anything. "You're still in a fragile emotional state right now, that will definitely have a strong role in your recovery." Hershel replied, beckoning to Daryl to follow. "Anza needs her rest."

I remembered the recovery process for my grandmother Theo when she had heart surgery. Although we both had different instances, she having heart disease and me getting stabbed in the chest, it was still similar. I remembered being told that heart surgery affected a patient's physical _and _emotional well being, which was why it was advised against for young people to do it. It would cause major emotional problems like depression and suicide. I poked at one of the stitches, wondering if this surgery would make things worse for me. Though at this point, I felt that things couldn't get any worse.

It was grueling having to stay in that bed for three days. What made it worse was that I wasn't allowed to see everyone for long. They would all visit me together for about twenty minutes, except for Daryl and Shane. Shane, I couldn't really give less of a fuck if the prick visited me. But, it was a bit upsetting that Daryl wouldn't come to see me. Most of the time was spent just laying there in bed. What was worse was that most of the time I couldn't sleep unless Hershel drugged me to sleep. I would have to lie about the pain just to get more fentanyl. I couldn't stand being awake. It was a nightmare for me having all this time to think. It did nothing but make me hyperventilate about my situation. Life, death, it was all overwhelming. There was a knock on the door. It was Daryl. He leaned against the doorway. "Hey," was all he said.

"Hey," I answered back, pushing my dark brown hair from my face. There was an awkward silence between us. Daryl drew in a breath before he spoke. "I'm real sorry for what happened back there. If you had died...I dun know what I would do," Daryl stated. "All I can say is sorry. I hurt you, there's no words to make up fo' it."

I stared at him for a moment. "You were hurting too."

"Yeah, I've been hurt in the past." Daryl answered, with a grim look on his face. "Those are wounds that will never heal for me."

For once, he wasn't being a total jerk. From what I gathered, there was a reason Daryl was a jerk. He probably had a traumatic and abusive childhood growing up. That would explain everything. "Better let you rest." He stated, about to walk away.

"What am I supposed to do till then?" I demanded. "I'm getting cabin fever here."

Daryl shrugged once, before looking to the counter and smirking. He tossed me a book. It was the Bible. "I don't know, read the Bible." he grinned.

I frowned immensely at him. "Fuck that, there ain't no Jesus."

"Careful what you say, or JC migh' send you to hell." Daryl joked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door frame.

I gave a light smile. "I'm already in hell."

Daryl didn't say anything to that. "Enjoy your evening." he answered, shutting the door behind him. I sighed out loud to myself. At least I could walk around tomorrow. I turned off the gas lamp and tried to get some sleep. I couldn't get the image of Daryl's nightmare out of my head. "I dun want to take it off...don't hurt me...don't touch me there, please..." he had said. I shivered at that. I also couldn't forget the sight of Daryl's tears. I never thought I'd see him like that. All broken down. And I never wanted to see him like that again. I liked it when Daryl smiled like he did just now. When he was gentle towards me. Now, I felt bad for treating Daryl terribly when he had spent hours looking for me in the rain. His childhood was probably worse than mine. My group was right, I couldn't spin off in the deep end just because Sky died. Carol didn't when Sophia died. It was a tough life now and I had to deal with it. I pulled the covers over my shoulders to try and get some sleep.

**Response to a comment**

_She's 18? Daryl would never go for that. Be real._

You do realize this story is based in a world where zombies exist? Also, this is a real life issue. Though I personally don't think it should be that much of a issue. I have more of a problem with rape than age between couples. A significant age difference between couples shouldn't really doesn't matter just as long as there is a connection between them. This goes for saying in the real world too. A good example would be Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas. They're 25 years apart and have been married for 14 years. Age really doesn't matter. I don't think it's a big deal when a 17 year old is dating a 25 year old. It would be more of a problem if a 17 year old was dating a 30+ year old. But, in the world they live in, it might not be a bad because there really isn't that many fish out in the sea. There are very little people left in that world, and an even smaller amount of good people. And it's hard to trust people when you've got bandits and constant death around you. In most countries when you turn 18, you are of legal age and can be with whoever you want. An 18 year old could be a 80 year old and it would be legal. Anza is almost 19. She can do whatever she wants.

Sorry for the long and passionate paragraph, but way that comment was written did kind of annoy me. You can respond to me if you like. I like responding to criticism. I'm open to it and change if it calls for it. Don't take this personally, I like responding :p

I'm glad you've enjoyed my story so far.


	21. Man vs Walkers

I walked out of the Greene house and inhaled the sweet summer breeze. It was so refreshing to move around and go outside after being stuck in that bed for three days. Even though I was technically in the bed for more than a week since I was in a state of shock. I'm glad I don't remember that though. Carl was up and walking around too after getting shot in the chest. "Just be sure not to stray too far from here, bandits and infected out there." Hershel explained, standing on the porch.

I nodded once. "Will do."

"And I don't want any of you playing in the barn over there, that's private property."

"Yes, sir."

Hershel gave me a hard stare before walking back inside his house. He seemed awfully discreet about entering the barn, but I decided not to give it too much thought. I respected Hershel and his privacy. He had done more than enough to earn that. I looked down at my chest to glance at the bandage taped over my heart. I pulled up my shirt a bit to try and cover it. I noticed Daryl walking across the tall grass and stalking towards me. He had his crossbow clung around his back. "How're doin'?" he asked, no antagonism in his voice. I noticed him glance once to my chest, right where the bandage was peeking out of my shirt. His face slightly cringed with guilt.

"I'm doing better," I sighed. "No more cabin fever and I finally get to go outside."

Daryl nodded a few times. "Great, that means you can go hunting with me."

I blinked once. "What?" I asked. "Are you serious?"

Daryl wanted to take me hunting? Did he get conked on the head? I was too speechless to say anything. Daryl ignored my reaction. "When am I not, prom queen?" he answered curtly. "Learn somethin' new for once and keep ya mind offa things."

Like keep my mind off of Sky? I knew he meant that. Daryl led me around back towards are camp where the crappy cyan truck was. Walker was tied to the back of the truck. He was yanking on the very end of his leash and growling. "Hey, what's the matter, boy?" Daryl cooed, kneeling beside the animal and petting him. "Wanna go huntin' wit me and the prom queen?"

I noticed that Walker was growling at the barn. Before I could think anymore about the barn, Daryl was dragging the wolfdog away. After a few yanks, Walker lost interest in the barn. The both of us walked across the tall grass into the lining of trees. We walked in silence as we trudged through the leafy trail in the forest. It was maybe about twenty minutes or so that I couldn't take it anymore. "So what exactly are we doing?" I asked in frustration.

Daryl tossed his crossbow to the ground and sat on a fallen tree trunk. He pulled out a piece of string. "I'm gonna teach ya how to do a twitch up snare." he responded. "Well, at least for starters."

"A twitch up snare?" I asked. "Is this going to be like Man vs. Wild."

"More like Man vs. Walkers." Daryl grinned.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, the snare uses a noose attached to a trigger held under tension, which once moved by the prey, the sumbitch gets lifted off the ground and hung in the air like a Christmas goose." Daryl explained. "That way, your dinner dun get stolen by another animal."

Daryl showed me how to make the snare. He made it look so easy. "Find a sapling and bend it across the trail. Use a piece of string or a long flexible stick to hold the sapling over the trail and connect it to two sticks driven into the ground." Daryl described as I tried to construct the trap. "The two sticks should be long enough to hold the sapling into position, but small enough to release when your prey enters the noose."

"So basically when the trap looks like a catapult?"

Daryl looked at me with amusement. "Yes, when it looks like a catapult."

I couldn't help but giggle once. Still, I had no fucking idea what I was doing. I felt like Daryl was talking to me in Korean. Constructing the trap was tricky, but remembering the thousand steps to making it was even worse. Daryl could probably do this in his sleep. Finally, after about eight failed attempts, I managed to make the damn trap under close instruction of Daryl, who practically had to do it for me. He patted me once on the back. "Congrats, prom queen, you made a twitch up snare." he answered. "Know how to make a fire?"

I frowned once. "Um, no."

Now, I felt kind of stupid. When I lived at my cabin in Albany those first three months of the outbreak, all I had to do was chop wood and put in kindling. I had plenty of matches at the time. The rest of the time, it was just like camping. We scavenged for canned food or went fishing or something. It never really got to the point where it was Man vs. Wild. We have vehicles, clothes, medicine, and weapons. If Daryl Dixon wanted to teach me how to hunt and survive, I sure as hell was going to take advantage of this opportunity.

I quickly stomped out the small fire I had just learned how to make. We didn't want to attract any unwelcome visitors. Walker was tied to the tree a few feet away from us. He was giving the thousand mile stare into the mossy forest. "Not bad." complimented Daryl.

"You might turn me into a killer in a few weeks." I smiled.

Daryl glanced at the bandage on my chest again. wondered if he did this because he felt guilty for almost killing me. At the same time, I did want some answers. "Why are you staring at my chest?" I flatly asked.

"I ain't lookin' at ya," scoffed Daryl, picking up his crossbow. "Nothin' to look at anyway."

I crossed my arms. "You've been glancing at my wound the entire time I've been here." I said, stepping lightly towards him. "There are a few things I'd like to know though."

I could see a pair of steel blue eyes glaring down at me. "Like what?" he snapped.

I paused for a moment, thinking carefully about what I was going to say. It wasn't going to be easy to. I looked up at him feeling uneasy. "What were you dreaming of?" I asked. "The things you were saying."

"Just forget about." Daryl answered coldly.

I softened my gaze. "No, I will not just forget about it. I got stabbed in the fucking heart because of it. What could be so bad in a dream that you just wake up and stab someone?" I said, trying not to get angry with him. I knew this was a sensitive subject.

I could see the anger forming in his eyes. Only, this anger wasn't directed towards me. At least most of it. Daryl glared daggers into mine. "You think you got it so tough, don't ya, princess? Daddy didn't buy you tha' pony for your sweet sixteen so now I gotta join a gang to get his attention." he hissed in a mocking voice. "Well, I would've gladly traded my Dad for yours. At least yours loved ya! I can tell by that voice mail you listen to every night!" I flinched once. Then, in a low voice said, "My Daddy beat me, he did things to me that would make your stomach churn. He was a sick fuck that did fuckin' _everythin'_ to me. He called that love. So be grateful that yo Daddy wasn't like that."

I stood there stunned by what he had just said. I didn't need him to explain in greater detail for me to know what he meant. "I'm sorry..." I whispered.

"I don't need your coddlin' and wrappin' me up in a cotton blanket!" he snapped at me. "I'm a Dixon, not some prissy pansy prom queen!"

"You think I'm some prissy pansy prom queen?" I asked in a calm voice.

"You bet!"

"Then why are we out here? Why did you want to help me by teaching me these things if you think I'm such an awful person?" I questioned. I was doing everything I could not to getting explosively angry. I did genuinely want to know a little more about Daryl. But, he didn't anything. He shook his head and spat angrily at the ground. I sighed loudly. "You know, I don't get you sometimes. One minute you're nice to me, and the next you're a complete asshole. I don't understand."

"You don't need to." Daryl said darkly. "All ya need to know is that what you call hell...was heaven compared to what I went through. So stop feelin' sorry for yourself."

I remembered the closed coffin at my mother's funeral. I couldn't understand what was going on at the time. I remembered all the times I screamed at Dad to get up to go to work. He wouldn't move. He laid in bed all day with his eyes wide open. Carmen had to get a job to provide for us. We lost electricity, water, food, the house...hope...

I glared at him. "Pain is still pain, Daryl. Don't judge something you know little about!"

"Is tha' why you wanted to know more about me?" scoffed Daryl. "So you could judge me?"

_"No,_ I just wanted to know because I was genuinely concerned about you! You ass!" I yelled at him, before walking away. The twigs snapped under my feet. I couldn't believe this guy sometimes. Daryl had to be bipolar or something. I had never met anyone as impulsive as him. There was a slight squeak under my feet. I stepped on something soft. I looked down to see a plushie underneath my hiking boot. My eyes widened with shock as I picked it up.

Daryl was stalking towards me, annoyed by how drastically of a bad turn our time together had taken. "Look, Anza, I–" he cut himself off once he saw the doll. "Wait, is that?..."

I still had a stunned look on my face. "This is Sophia's doll." I answered. "Sophia gave this to Sky before she died."

Daryl was just as speechless as I was.

"But, what's it doing out here?" I breathed.

"You think Sky dropped it while you two were takin' Carl to Hershel? Or maybe she went outside for a bit when Carl got shot?" Daryl suggested, trying to give an explanation as to why the doll was so far out here.

"No, I saw her with the doll at the house. She stayed there the entire time until she snuck out with Otis and Shane." I answered. "Sky must have taken it with her because I don't see how else it could've gotten out here."

Daryl knelt onto the ground where I had picked up the doll. He slowly lifted his head up as his eyes were following a trail of some sorts. A trail that I couldn't see. Daryl stood up and walked a few feet. He beckoned to me. I looked at the ground where he was pointing at. There were a couple of small footprints in some clear mud. "Someone definitely went through here, that's for sure," Daryl explained. "Someone with small feet like Sky's made 'em. These tracks are fresh."

"How can you tell?"

"Last week, we had that one rainy day where you ran off into the woods, it created plenty of mud."

I was amazed by how smart Daryl was. Though this seemed to be common sense to him. Daryl quickly untied Walker and handed his leash to me. I followed closely behind him while he was tracking where the trail led. The mud was long gone, but Daryl could still see a trail. Whatever he was seeing, I sure as hell wasn't. I saw a mountain of what looked like grey poop stacked on top of each other. Though it was actually an unattractive chimney of mud. "That's a crayfish hole." Daryl answered, as if he had read my own thoughts. I noticed Walker padding along the same trail that Daryl was tracking. He could see or in his case, smell, it too. Daryl held the doll in front of Walker, who glued his nose to it for a few seconds before licking it. His nose twitched and the wolfdog began to lead us down to the creek. We walked up and down the stream for a long time searching for any sign that someone had been here.

Walker continued to follow the scent from Sophia's doll, I just hoped there was enough of Sky's scent on it for him to find it. Walker led us to a clearing with a two story house in the middle. The light blue paint was faded and crusted, it was definitely an old house. Daryl tied Walker's leash around a tree trunk before pulling out his crossbow that was hanging by his back. The both of us carefully approached the house. Daryl tapped open the door with his crossbow. We walked stealthily throughout the house, trying not to make a noise. Daryl made sure that each room was safe before searching through it. The house was empty for the most part, an empty pantry, cracked walls, rotting wood. What was expected after a zombie apocalypse. We entered a different room where there wasn't as much dust. Daryl pointed at the ground. There were muddy footprints on the ground. The same size as the footprints back in the woods. That was when I noticed drops of red trailing alongside the footprints. Then, there was a pool of blood with a bullet in the middle. Daryl swiped his fingers across it. He rubbed his fingers together. "The blood is dry," he answered, picking up the bullet. "Looks like someone was wounded. They managed to pull out the bullet."

My eyes followed the direction of the muddy footprints and blood. It lead to a cracked pantry door. I carefully approached it before swinging open the door. I was expecting to find a Walker or at least Sky. It was empty except for some blankets and pillows. I was about to leave when something shiny flashed in my eye. I peered down to see something sticking out of the pillow case. There was a photograph. I reached down and picked them up. My eyes widened with horror. "Daryl," I said, turning around and showing him. It was a photograph of me, Sky, and Carol.

Before we could say anything, Walker started barking. Daryl placed the bullet in his pocket as the both of us rushed outside. Walker was fighting against his leash and jumping wildly up and down. We turned towards the trees where he was barking out.

Sky was standing in the clearing.


	22. Deceit

"Sky!" I screamed at her.

She was alive! She was alive!

The instant Sky saw me, she ran back into the woods. "Sky, wait, no, come back!" I yelled frantically, running after her. Sky didn't get too far, I noticed that she was limping. Daryl quickly caught up and ran in front of her. Sky tried going past him but he grabbed her with both arms. Sky began squirming and yelling out loud like a vicious animal. He wrapped his arms around her to prevent Sky from running away. She continued to wriggle and scream in his arms. "Calm down, I ain't gonna hurt ya, kid!" Daryl exclaimed. "Settle down!"

Sky sunk her teeth into his muscled arm. Daryl gritted his teeth, still holding onto Sky. I rushed beside them. "Sky, stop it!" I cried out, prying her mouth from Daryl's arm. Teeth marks were engraved in his arms. A little bit of blood formed. Sky growled at me with daggers in her eyes. "Sky, what's wrong?" I asked.

She didn't say anything to me as usual. Daryl released Sky from his grip, she didn't try running. Sky knew she had been caught. Daryl then knelt before her with his hands on the side of her arms. He was kind towards her now. "Sky, where were ya? Why didn't you come back if you were alive?" Daryl then asked, being more gentle. Sky just gave him a blank stare. "You can tell me anythin', Sky? I can't help if you don't talk, remember? You told me about Sophia. So, tell me now. What happened to ya?"

Sky continued to say nothing. She pointed to her leg. The bottom half of her pant leg was ripped off. She used it as a bandage for the wound on her leg. Her bottom leg was covered in dried blood where the wound was. Daryl sat Sky down and examined the wound. It was a gunshot wound. Daryl smirked once, holding the bullet we found in his hand. "Ya dug out the bullet? You're one tough kid."

She was staring off into the distance. I crossed my arms. Daryl was silent for a few moments as he stared at the bullet. He put the bloodied bullet back in his pocket before scooping Sky up into his arms. "Can you hold Walker and my crossbow?" he asked, stalking past me with Sky.

"Yeah," I nodded. I picked up his crossbow before untying Walker from the tree and following. All the depression I had been feeling these past few days were instantly gone. Sky was alive! I felt bad for having so little faith in her. She was a strong kid, the strongest one that I knew. I smiled at Sky once. She pressed her face against Daryl's shoulder and closed her eyes. Sky was filthy, covered in dirt, twigs, and blood. Her short black hair was matted and in knots. She probably hadn't eaten in days too. I felt so bad for her, but I was just glad that she was alive. That was all I cared about at the moment.

When we entered the clearing at the Greene farm, we walked towards the camp. Lori was folding some laundry out with Carol. The moment they saw us with Sky, their eyes widened and their jaws dropped. They rushed towards us. "Oh my God, Sky, you're alive!" Lori nearly cried out, placing her hand on Sky's forehead.

Carol gasped once. _"What happened to her leg?"_

"Get Hershel and the others." Daryl ordered, still holding onto Sky.

He sure was strong and enduring being able to hold her weight for so long. Daryl went inside Dale's camper and set Sky onto the couch. Word quickly spread around that Sky was alive. Carl rushed inside the camper with Rick and Shane. First thing Carl did was throw his arms around Sky. "I'm so glad you're alive!" he cried out. Sky gave a half smile, that was, until she looked at Shane. I noticed that he didn't seem to be as shocked and overjoyed with Sky's return as the others were. Shane had a displeased look on his face, like he wasn't at all happy to see Sky. "How the hell did she get shot?" Dale asked.

Shane shrugged. "Maybe she got attacked by bandits when she escaped."

Well, that seemed to make sense. But, we would find out from Sky later. Hershel entered the camper with a medical kit. He then ordered all of us out of the camper.

"Mind if I stay?" Shane inquired. I noticed Sky move uncomfortably in her seat. I frowned. Why the fuck did Shane want to be in the camper with Sky and Hershel? I never really knew him to associate himself with anyone except for maybe his best friend Rick and his family. Shane was always distant towards the rest of us.

"What for?" I scoffed. "Moral support?"

Shane stared me. "No, I just want to know what happened."

"We all know what happened." I answered. "Sky escaped the zombies, obviously."

"Yeah, but I wanna know how."

I gave him a funny look. "Why is that so important right now? Let her be. She's tired, hungry, and injured."

"You don't order me around here." Shane said in a cold voice.

His dark eyes were glaring daggers into mine. I didn't understand why Shane was getting so hostile all of a sudden. I felt myself become more irritated. I crossed my arms. "I do when it comes to taking care of Sky." I hissed. "She's my responsibility."

Shane scoffed at me. _"Clearly,_ you've done a good job at that."

"You shut the fuck up right now! I swear!" I then shouted, raising my fist to punch him. The anger ignited inside me like a volcanic eruption. Daryl grabbed my hand and restrained me from attacking Shane Hershel glared at both of us. "Get the fuck out, I'm trying to work here." he snapped in annoyance and anger. That was the first time I heard the good doctor swear. Dale shooed us out of the camper. I hissed once at Shane like a snake before stomping away towards my tent.

Rick followed after me. "Hey," he called after. "Don't let Shane get to ya, we're all a little on edge here."

"When are we not?" I asked. "Shane was getting on edge for no fucking reason. Why the fuck does it matter how Sky escaped? Why does he have to be so hard on a kid that almost fucking died! He's acting like it's a bad thing that she lived!"

That was when Daryl stepped out from the trees. "Well, maybe it was, in his eyes." Daryl interjected. There was a stern look on the hillbilly's face. The both of us turned to him in confusion. "What do you mean?" I demanded.

Daryl looked around us to see if anyone was around. Most of everyone was at camp. I saw Glenn and Maggie entered the camp with Carl and Beth. They ad been feeding the chickens. Andrea was talking to a relieved Carol. Over in the fields, Shane was arguing with Lori before marching away in anger. Daryl led us farther away from camp. "What's this about?" Rick inquired.

"I think Shane killed Otis and tried to kill Sky." Daryl hypothesized.

"What?" me and Rick asked at the same time.

We looked at Daryl like he had lost his mind. "What makes you think that?" asked Rick, who was on the defensive. He couldn't stand the idea of his friend being a murderer. I couldn't believe it either. We stuck together as one family, although sometimes we fought each other as one family. "I've had my suspicion ever since he returned alone from the high school. Shane claimed that Otis and Sky got eaten by zombies, yet he returned with their guns. Doesn't that seem a little weird?" Daryl explained. "But, I didn't really believe it until Sky came back alive. He said that she got eaten by zombies."

"Well, maybe Shane thought she got eaten by zombies. Pretty easy to assume you're dead if you get lost in a crowd of zombies." Rick tried to reason. Yeah, that was true. But, then I remembered how Shane acted in the camper.

"And when I saw this." Daryl added.

Daryl then pulled out the bullet from his pocket. It was the one Sky dug out from her leg at the house she was staying at. Daryl handed Rick the bullet. I saw Rick go pale when he saw bullet. "This is a bullet to a Glock-17 gun." he muttered.

"The same type of gun that Shane owns." Daryl finished.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist. "I'm gonna kill him!" I snarled, turning around. "That son of a bitch killed Otis and tried to murder a little girl! This sick cunt is fucking dead!"

I was gonna grab my silver handgun from the tent and shoot the living fuck out of Shane. Rick grabbed my bare arm. "Hold it, partner," Rick warned. "Why would Shane want to kill Otis and Sky? What reason would he have?"

"Fuck would I know? Or care, for that matter? You don't need a reason to kill anybody nowadays," I retorted. "Point is, he's a loose screw and Shane has got ta go. He is more of a danger to our group than any walker would be."

"I agree," Daryl added.

Rick waved his arms at us in a calming manner. "Hold on, hold on, don't be so rash! We can't just go judge, jury, and executioner like this in two seconds! We don't know if this is even true!" Rick explained. I immediately felt myself grow intensely annoyed by Rick's denial. Daryl checked the rounds in his handgun. "Sure we can," he replied. "Watch us."

"Yeah, watch us." I jeered at Rick.

"Let us wait awhile before we make a decision."

Daryl looked at him just as outraged as I was. "What fo' what? Til' he kills another one of us?" he yelled. "We just pop 'em now and get it over with."

"No, that is my decision," Rick said in an authoritative voice. We kind of did look up to him as the leader. But, this was beyond ridiculous. "I must think on this for awhile before we make a decision. This is a life we're dealing with."

"Yeah, we have to think about our fucking lives! Who cares about Shane's at this point? He killed Otis and tried to kill Sky! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!" I then shouted at Rick. "What we sittin' around for?!"

"I know, believe me I do, I just have to be absolutely sure before making such a decision." Rick pleaded with me. "Let me talk with Shane."

_"Talk with Shane?"_ I nearly screeched. "Are you fucking crazy? What will we gain by doin' that?!"

Then Daryl went on his own tangent."My brother just beat someone up, he gets chained to the top of a building and left for dead, has to saw his hand off just to survive," Daryl began in a calm voice, before growing more and more angry. "But, Shane fucking_ murders_ someone and tries to _murder_ a little girl, and he gets a free pass! What the fuck?!"

I placed my hands on his shoulder to try and calm Daryl, only for him to shove me away. I remembered that we had to keep our voices down from anyone else discovering this.

I couldn't believe Rick was acting this way.

He was putting hope in someone where there was none. Shane was a threat to our group. Why didn't Rick see that? He just didn't want to admit it. I glared heavily at Rick. "You wouldn't be like this if it was your wife he killed, or your son he tried to kill." I hissed in his face, jabbing him in the chest twice. "We are the judge, jury, and executioner. We are the law and order now. Rick, you have more right to carry that out than any of us. You're a police officer, you're supposed to be an officer of justice. But, if you can't do your job right, then hand over the badge and step aside."

"I am doing my job right. I'm going to hear both sides before I make a decision," Rick snapped back at me, trying to dominate me with his own authority. "You will wait until then. If you shoot Shane, I will shoot you. You can't go vigilante here. We will do this like civilized people."

"Fine," I growled. "But, if anyone else dies because of Shane, you have no one to blame but yourself. It will be all your fucking fault and I will never forgive you!"

I then smashed my shoulder into his before marching off seething in anger. I literally had to restrain myself from just blowing Shane's brains out. The moment I stormed into the camper, upon seeing Sky, all that anger faded. It transformed into sorrow and pity. The shit this poor little girl had to go through. Hershel was packing his utensils away. "Is she going to be alright?" I asked.

"She's fine, luckily the gunshot wound wasn't deep and didn't nick any blood vessels."

I snickered once. "She wouldn't be alive if that happened."

"Yes," Hershel nodded, in a serious state. "She has a bit of a fever and a cold, is a little underfed from not eating. But, she should be fine in a few days."

"Thank you, Hershel." I said.

Hershel didn't say anything. He merely packed his bag and left the camper. Dale was in the backroom looking through some old photos he had. I sat beside Sky on the couch, who was laying down with a blanket covering her. I began stroking her black hair. "Shane shot you didn't he?" I asked in a monotone voice.

Sky looked up at me.

"It's okay, you can tell me." I assured her. "Shane will pay for this, I promise."

Sky didn't say anything or show any emotion. She pulled her hand out from under the blanket and poked me on the bandage taped over my heart. I was instantly embarrassed that she could see it. I forgot that I was wearing a tank top. "Yeah, I got hurt too while you were gone." I frowned. "We're all hurting right now, Sky."

She blinked at me. I stopped petting her on the head. "Sleep well, and don't worry about Shane. Me and Daryl will protect you."

Sky yawned widely, nodding while she did so. There were dark circles from her eyes from lack of sleep and the stress of the situation. She had to survive a week in the woods at that house with little food. I walked towards the back of the camper where Dale was. "Hi Anza, just...rememberin' the old times." he sighed, placing the photograph of his deceased wife on the nightstand beside his bed. "Dale, can I tell you somethin'?" I asked.

"Sure, anything, kiddo."

"Can you keep the camper locked? I really don't trust Shane right now."

"Why?" Dale narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell anyone I told you this, but me and Daryl think he killed Otis and tried to kill Sky. He shot her in the leg and left her to get eaten for the zombies." I explained with little detail. I guess I was trying to pit Dale against Shane. But, what was wrong with that? Shane was guilty for murder. Dale was in deep thought for a few moments. "I believe you." he stated firmly.

"You do?" I asked.

"Yes, I haven't been too trusting of him either since we left the Atlanta camp."

"That long?"

"Yep. We we're hunting in the woods with Rick, I saw Shane aiming his rifle at him." Dale explained. "I saw him about to pull the trigger until Shane noticed I was there. He then laughed it off and claimed that he thought Rick was a walker."

I cursed under my breath. Now, that only made my anger and hatred towards Shane intensify even more. I shook my head with disgust. "This isn't going to end well, we're gonna have to kill him." I sighed.

Dale scratched his head. "I don't think it is either, kid, but what choice do we have?"

"None." I answered grimly, turning and leaving the camper.


	23. Confrontations

**(Sorry it took so long to upload, been relaxing since Christmas. Finally decided to get back to writing. I don't know if I'll update as frequently since I start college tomorrow. But, we'll see. I also don't hold anything negative towards my reviewers for criticism, although I would much appreciate it if you would be nicer in the review. I don't mind constructive criticism just as long as it's constructive :p)**

I stood beside Daryl near the brick house that was in ruins and was the furthest away from the Hershel farm. Patricia and Beth had cooked a glorious meal for all of us. Chicken, homemade bread, corn, and lettuce. T-Dog was hogging most of the food, having taken two plates. Dale and Carol ate and quietly spoke to each other under the visor of the camper. Andrea took her food and sat by herself in the small row of peach trees. Walker was begging for food. I saw that Carol had brought Walker a plate of chicken and bread for him to eat. The wolfdog scarfed it all down. Rick and Lori were eating in front of the campfire on a log. Through the smoke, I could see Carl and Sky sitting on the dirt, eating, and playing Yu-Gi-Oh at the same time. Shane slowly walked past Sky, overlooking what they were doing as if they were doing something bad. Their eyes met and my stomach churned. Shane retreated to his tent with his food. "I can't believe that murderous asshole is allowed to stay and dine with us," I spat. "When he killed Otis and tried to kill Sky."

Daryl was making some arrows from branches in the forest. He sharpened the one he was working on with his hunting knife. We were far away from the camp, purposefully distancing ourselves from the group. Daryl was just sitting there listening to me vent.

"And Rick doesn't believe us," I hissed under my breath, walking back and forth. "It's only cuz Shane is his friend, or so he thinks, otherwise he'd put a bullet to his head!"

Daryl stood up. "Dun worry about it, prom queen. Shane do anythin' and I put a bullet in between his eyes." he promised me, in his Southern accent. I felt better when he told me that. When I was around Daryl, it was the only time I truly felt safe. Shane was the complete opposite. He was the most dangerous person to us at the moment. The worst part, he lived among us. I took me and Daryl's plates back to the camper. I spotted Shane stalking around, wearing a brown T-shirt with green cargo pants and black combat boots. I noticed him approach Sky and Carl, who were still playing their game. "Sky, could I speak to you alone for a moment please?" Shane asked.

Sky merely looked up at him with silence.

"What do you need to talk to her about?" I interjected, washing the plate with a wet towel. Shane turned to me with an irritated look. Shane then smiled at me. "Oh, I need to talk with Sky." he answered.

"Really?" I asked. "Well, Sky has some chores to do with Carol."

Sky looked at me with confusion.

"Go on," I snapped her.

Sky instantly got to her feet and ran inside the camper. Normally, she would've resisted but we both knew that wasn't the reason why I said that. Both of our eyes met as she passed. I had never seen her so grateful in my life. Or her life. The life that Shane had tried to take away. Shane muttered under his breath before walking past me. I didn't let it go from there.

"Why are you so desperate to talk with Sky all of a sudden?" I laughed in a passive aggressive tone. "Do you really think you can get a word out of a mute child?"

Shane didn't stop to talk with me, instead heading for his tent. "I'm not desperate. Sky is a member of this group, she has to do her part too. Just because she's a kid don't excuse it. It's a dog eat dog world out there, ya know."

I raised my eyebrows. "A dog eat dog world? That's interesting, coming from you."

Shane narrowed his eyes "You're point?"

I lost my smile. I had a hard look on my face as I approached him with my arms crossed. "I want you to leave like you said you would. You don't belong here with us."

He looked at me with amusement. "You think that the group would be better off without me? Rick and Lori wouldn't think so. I saved their boy's life. I think that's proof enough that I belong here."

He continued to try and walk away from me. I didn't give up on this pursuit. "Speaking of proof, you've been awfully vague about what happened that night." I then said. Shane stopped dead in his tracks. "Like how Otis died or how a bullet from your gun got lodged into Sky's leg, because that's telling me a different story."

He had been staring at the ground before looking up and glaring intently into my eyes. A veiled rage sparkled in his dark eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I think you killed Otis and you tried to kill Sky." I answered. "You shaved your head after it happened."

I noticed his Adam's apple move in this throat. He was nervous. "I got my hair ripped out by a walker, you can see the cut. It looked out of place so I shaved it. To insinuate that I killed Otis is ungrateful bullshit."

I gave a snide sneer before crossing my arms. "So, you got cut by a walker and somehow you didn't get infected?"

I noticed Shane instantly go pale. He didn't think that one through. I paused for a moment before snickering. "You're not making me a believer, Shane." I stated. "I believe you killed Otis and tried to kill Sky."

"You weren't there, you arrived too late. Things happened so quickly."

"Dale was there the time you tried to shoot Rick in the woods back at Atlanta."

Shane had been staring at the ground the entire time I said that. He then gazed at me. There was nothing but hatred in his eyes, which I had never seen before. Now, I was beginning to feel scared of him. There was a murderous intent in his face. I wondered if he would actually kill me. "You think I would kill Rick? My best friend? He like a brother to me." He hissed to me in a low voice. "You think I would murder an innocent child?"

"Yes, I do." I immediately answered with conviction. "I know what kind of man you are."

Shane took a few steps closer until he was only inches away from my face. He towered over me in an authoritive face. A look of repulsion in his face and eyes. "Okay, say I'm the kind of man you think I am, that is willing to kill my best friend and a child." His lips almost twitched into a smile, which he was clearly restraining. "What do you think I'd do to someone I don't even like? That is throwing accusations at me?"

Suddenly, his hand lifted up and twirled a strand of my long darkest brown hair. Shane then swept the side of my cheek with his hand. His face slowly leaned in towards mine. A shiver ran throughout my body. "Do you know what I could do to a pretty little Mexican cunt like yourself?" he continued.

I couldn't believe what he just said. The anger and rightousness overcame my fear of Shane. My nose twitched as my eyebrows narrowed into a glare. I pushed Shane in the chest. He stumbled back a bit. There was sweat on Shane's brow as a sick smile formed on his lips. I couldn't back down. I retained my composure and glared back at Shane. "I'm capable." I insisted.

Shane sneered at that. "I was a police officer and a firearms instructor. You really think you can beat someone who is highly trained in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat? Especially given that I have fifty pounds more muscle than you?"

"I think I can. Death and I are good friends. I got shot in the head, fell out of a helicopter, oh and I survived the outbreak, which I don't think anyone on this planet has aside from me." I listed. I noticed Shane flinch when I said that. "Oh, and I got stabbed in the heart."

Shane lost the joy on his face when I said that. He looked at me with a fury. I smiled once to infuriate him more. "I'm not scared of you, Shane. I've killed men like you. You just stay away from me and Sky. If anything, and I mean, anything, happens to that little girl, I will kill you."

This time, I was the one who turned and walked away.

* * *

The next morning started the same way it always did. Making breakfast, doing chores, or helping around the farm. The same old boring survival schedule we now had. No fun allowed. Lori was homeschooling Carl, so I had Sky join them. It was kind of difficult for Lori since Sky wouldn't talk. She'd had to read her paper. We didn't even know if she was in the same grade as Carl was. She looked younger, so I didn't think so. But, she seemed to be doing good. I was irritated when Rick had to take away all the guns, machetes, and sharp knives from the camp. I knew I had to respect that. I was glad that we could at least use firearms outside of the farm. I let Sky hold onto my special switchblade I had given her from past generations of my family.

I had to leave this group. As much as I loved everyone, Shane was dangerous. He was going to snap and kill someone again. Rick refused to get rid of Shane or kill him. I wasn't going to be the one he killed and neither was Sky.

I decided to go into town to get supplies for leaving. I wasn't going to tell anyone until the day I left. Rick and Dale were hesitant about it but they knew that I was strong and relented. Rick was still kind of weak from giving liters of blood to Carl. His eyes looked so bloodshot. This had happened more than a week ago and he was still week. Hershel said it would take a few months for him to fully regenerate all of his lost blood. Though Rick was already up and walking around. He didn't give a shit.

Before I left to the stables, Carl wanted me to get him Yu-Gi-Oh cards and find some other toys to play. "You don't have to make it top priority or anything, I know supplies are more important." Carl stated.

"Well, it's also important to have fun." I smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

Carl tipped his father's sheriff hat before walking off. I asked for permission to use one of their horses. I was sick of driving, but I also wanted to conserve gas for our trip. "Sky, we're heading in to town." I told her. "I want you to come with me."

She nodded once, going to the stall holding a horse. I grabbed a hold of a saddle off the wall, before being overwhelmed by how heavy it was and crashing into the wooden table. I heard someone laughing from behind me. Daryl clapped his hands together as he walked towards me. " 'Round of applause, darlin'." he smiled.

I frowned at him, getting up and brushing myself up. "Oh, be quiet!"

"Lemme get that for ya," Daryl insisted, picking up the heavy leather saddle. The muscles in his arm tensed. It wasn't as much effort as it was for someone like me. He threw the saddle over the back of the horse before buckling the horse down. "So, ya goin' in ta town?" Daryl then asked.

"Yeah, just getting some supplies." I sighed. "Got nothin' else better to do."

"I'll come with you."

I stared at Daryl like he was crazy. He only shrugged. "Got nothin' else better to do."

I gave him a half smile. I extended a hand out to Sky and pulled her onto the back of the horse. She sat behind the saddle on the blanket covering the horse. We waited for Daryl to prepare his horse before leaving. Afterwards, we descended into the forest.

* * *

I had never really ridden a horse before but it couldn't be that hard. Just pull on the reins. It was awkwardly quiet for about thirty minutes as we rode into town. I wanted to say something to Daryl but I didn't know what. The town was empty and abandoned. I looked all around for any signs of life. I didn't even see any walkers, well, alive ones that is. There were dead people scattered across the road and sidewalk, flipped cars, broken windows, and most of the shops had been ransacked. The destruction contrasted with the shining sun and birds chirping loudly in the air. "Everything is so quiet here," I then said. "It's a ghost town."

Daryl turned to me. "A walker town." he corrected.

I slid from my horse, Michelle, before tying her up to a bike rack. Daryl parked Nelly beside me. Here was the pharmacy shop that Maggie told me about. Hopefully there would still be some stuff left. I entered the store wordlessly and began picking up stuff I would need. There wasn't much left in the store, but it would have to suffice. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, a couple cans of food, Gatorade, Ibeprofin, band aids, bandages, clean wipes, peroxide...

" 'Lota supplies you got there, any reason?" Daryl inquired. He had been basically just wondering through the store. I didn't get why he came along. I exhaled once. "I'm leaving the group," I stated. "I can't count on Rick, and I certainly can't count on Shane."

"But, you can coun' on me." Daryl countered. His blue eyes burned into mine. I could feel the heat rushing to my face. I nervously broke the gaze before smiling awkwardly. "Yeah, I can." I agreed. "I just...this group is broken. You know that. I don't want to be here when it really falls apart. People will die. Me and Sky are better off without them."

"Any place you gonna go?"

"Any place far away from Shane."

I headed into the pharmacy. I looked through the remaining bottles of pills and medicines they had. I made a small list of what medicines could help me since the names of them were so damn complicated. I took what was left on the shelves that was useful. Aspirin and Ibuprofen (of course), nitrogen pills, peroxide, asthma spray, diabetes medicine and–Daryl stuck his hand in the shopping bag I had. He pulled out up a bottle and examined it. "Ooo, Viagra!" Daryl said before smiling at me.

I snatched the bottle away from him. "It does not say that!" I exclaimed, tossing the bottle back into the bag. Daryl snickered at his little joke. It was then silent again. I could see that Daryl was deep in thought again. I continued scavenging through medicine cabinets. There were actually a few packages of Fentanyl and Oxycontin in these. I was surprised Maggie didn't take them all. She must have saved them for someone else to take. The Greenes really were giving people.

"You really gun leave?" Daryl asked again.

"Yes," I answered. I could see that Daryl was disappointed with my answer. I slightly bit my lip. "Come with us," I then offered. "You obviously don't like it with the group, we could use more testosterone."

"Well then, we're going to need more Viagra."

I smacked him on the head with a magazine that was laying nearby.

"Real cute, Daryl." I frowned at him.

Daryl had his typical bad boy grin on, with his matted brown hair in his face. He was just trying to lighten the mood. Though I had never seen him act this chilled with me. He was usually a prick to me and everyone else. He had his moments. But, he was loose around me. Although I did seem a little weird to me what Daryl said. Was there even a chance that Daryl could like me? Or that I might like him? I quickly pushed the thoughts out of my head. No way in hell. He was in his thirties, I wasn't even twenty. I wasn't even nineteen. I then remembered that my birthday was in a few days though. That was easy to forget in a zombie apocalypse.

Sky walked up to me with a big smile and handed me a strange silvery package. Condoms. Daryl burst out laughing when he saw that. Daryl told Sky to do this. Now, I was pissed. My face cringed with anger as I threw the packet at Sky, who ducked under a table. "Are you trying to say something, Dixon?!" I nearly yelled at him, grabbing a bottle of pills and throwing it at him. He covered his face with his muscled arm. The pills hit him and collapsed to the floor. "Hey, I din' tell her ta do that." Daryl stated. "She di' that herself!"

"Oh, bullshit." I answered, walking back into the pharmacy. "Sky doesn't know about that stuff!"

Daryl shrugged once. "I dunno, my Daddy taught me that shit when I was five." He then paused, staring blankly at the tiled floor. "Course, that...was different."

I looked at him sympathetically. There was nothing I could say to comfort him over what he told me. The disturbing things he was saying in his sleep, just before he stabbed me in the heart, the things he told me in the woods. His Daddy wasn't just not nice, he was a sick fuck. I'm surprised Daryl didn't turn out as bad as I thought he was. Daryl noticed me staring at him. I hoped he didn't see my eyes watering but he did.

"Whad you givin' me tha' look for? You gun cry?"

"No." I croaked.

"Look, I dun need ya pity, princess!" Daryl then said in a loud voice. I then narrowed my eyes in anger.

"I'm not pitying you!" I yelled in his face. "It's not always a bad thing anyways!"

I stormed out of the store towards my horse. Sky reluctantly followed after me, not before shaking her head with disappointment at Daryl. The hillbilly let out a sigh, before lightly banging his head on the wall.


	24. Better Days

We rode back to the Greene farm in silence. I had nothing to say to Daryl at this point. I just couldn't with him. I was a little bit ahead of Daryl on the trail, I didn't want to be near him. Sky sat awkwardly on the back of the saddle. After about thirty minutes, I heard Daryl give out a loud sigh. He urged the horse to trot faster in order to catch up with me. "I'm sorry about getting mad at you earlier," Daryl apologized, in a low voice that wasn't cruel.

I didn't say anything. I didn't even look at Daryl. I felt Sky smack me lightly on the back. I exhaled before speaking. "Not the first and certainly won't be the last," I stated. "The sooner I leave the better."

Daryl hesitated to respond. Then he said, "You can't survive there all on yer own, Anza. Think about Sky too."

"I do, Sky was almost murdered by a member of our group. I'd be better off joining the bandits."

"That's ridiculous, sunshine. You–" There was a loud gunshot.

Daryl cried out once, clutching his side, before falling off his horse. The horse named Michelle reared on its hind legs, throwing me and Sky off its back. We both landed on the bark covered ground, nearly getting the wind knocked out of us. The two spooked horses thundered throughout the forest. I quickly grabbed Sky and hid behind a tree. Daryl had fallen down a slope, so at least he was safe from getting shot even more. More gunshots filled the air with more shouting. "It's those fucking bandits!" I hissed, pulling out my handgun and giving it to Sky. I yanked out my shotgun from my full backpack.

"We're gonna get you cunts!" I heard someone shout, followed by a gunshot.

A bandit peeked out his head, before getting it blown off by me. Another leaped out from the bushes and towards us. Sky shot him in the forehead. He crumbled lifelessly to the ground. "I take back what I said about those bandits!" I then told Sky, aiming my shotgun and shooting. There was a loud yelp of pain from the forest. The bushes began to shake as the voices drew near. I was out of ammo. I cursed once, tossing the useless machinery to the ground. I clung to the machete for dear life. If I had known I was going to get attacked by bandits, I would've came more prepared. Sky moved to about ten feet away from me towards the other tree. Pretty much everytime she shot, a bandit was dead. I taught her well. When Sky was out of ammo, she tossed the silver handgun to the side. I heard the bushes getting ruffled a lot. Someone was coming. I saw a barrell of a rifle slowly emerge from my side. The bandit saw Sky and instantly had her in his scope. Sky just sat there innocently, not making any sudden movement to provoke this bandit. He was in his late twenties with tattered clothing.

_Chi-chink!_

"Got you, bitch." he growled. "This is for my friends you and that chola killed."

I raised my arm and threw the machete. It spun through the air before landing in the bandit's back. He screamed out loudly before collapsing to the bark ground. I ran towards him and pulled out the machete from his flesh.

"Actually, I got you." I told him, before driving the machete into his neck. The bandit tried to scream but couldn't. His entire throat was crushed. All I could hear was him gurgling as he choked on his own blood. I stood up, breathing tensely. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my system. It was now quiet again. "I think that's the last of em," I exhaled. "Where's Daryl?"

Sky pointed down the steep slope. I grumbled once to myself. I picked up the dead bandit's rifle. I then stopped for a moment when I realized something. I pulled out the machete and swung it into his head, a sickening crunch as I saw his brains. I yanked out the bloody machete. Sky stared at me with confusion as to why I did that. They still didn't know the truth about the walkers. I always wondered how Sky's mother was able to come back as a walker if she wasn't bitten. What Jenner told me suddenly made since.

I gave Sky my rifle. "Quickly, get outta here! The farm is nearby!" I said to her, desperately.

Sky immediately nodded with both hands on the rifle. She ran through the forest, jumping quickly through the trees. I hoped she wouldn't get attacked by bandits. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea splitting this up. But, I wanted Sky out of the danger as soon as possible.

I held onto tree branches to prevent me from slipping or falling down the sloop. I reached the bottom where I found myself at a small beach with a roaring river running through it. I scanned the beach once before finding Daryl, who was slowly crawling alongside the shore. Daryl was holding onto his crossbow with one arm and clutching his bleeding side with the other. He began climbing up the steep slope. "Hold on! I'm coming to get you!" I hollered to him.

"Don't!" Daryl snapped. "I ain't weak!"

"But, you've been shot!"

"I don't need your help! I'm a Dixon! I ain't weak!"

I reluctantly stayed where I was as I watched Daryl struggle to get up the slope. I still wasn't sure whether or not to help him. But, he seemed so enraged everytime I tried to. Daryl grabbed onto a tree branch, but lost his footing and ended up tumbling down towards the muddy beach. I clung tightly to the branches as I slowly and carefully made my way down the steep hill. There was no way I could carry Daryl up the cliff. He was too tall and heavy, comprised of mostly muscle.

I unraveled the crossbow from Daryl's back, putting it over my shoulder. I then rolled Daryl onto his back and ripped open his shirt with his switchblade. His chest rose and fell slowly. I sighed with relief, at least he was still alive. Blood pooled out from his gunshot wound. I placed my hand on his muscled stomach to stop the bleeding. "Daryl, you need to stay with me, okay?" I said loudly to his face. His eyes were closed but I could hear him muttering under his breath.

There was a splashing noise from behind me. I turned to see a walker emerge from the lining of trees. I pulled out my machete to quickly dispatch this walker. But, more walkers emerged, more, more, and more. I lowered my machete. There had to be about ten of them. I wasn't sure if I could fight all of them. I glanced once to the passed out Daryl. But, I didn't have a choice.

"Merle," I heard Daryl say.

His head tilted slowly to either side with his eyes half open. "I ain't nobody's bitch," he muttered, among other things. I narrowed my eyes.

Merle? Was he talking about his brother? Daryl must have been hallucinating. He continued to talk nonsense while the walkers closed in on us. I tossed his crossbow beside him since I didn't know how to use it. The walker that was closest to me had its arms stretched out for me, as if to give me a hug. I slammed my machete into it's skull, splitting it in half. The walker collapsed into the river. I ran around in a circle, trying to draw the walkers away from the unconsious Daryl.

Four of them turned to stumble through the water towards me. However, the other one went straight for Daryl. "Shit!" I cursed, swinging the machete and lobbing off its head. I quickly stabbed the other through the face and yanked it out. The walker grabbed Daryl by the foot. I tried to ignore the walkers by wading as fast as I could through the waist deep water. I couldn't escape them though. I was too slow.

A walker managed to grab me and sink its teeth into my right shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound like a fountain. I let out a loud yell before stabbing it through the head with a machete. It sunk lifelessly in the water. "Ugh, not again," I growled, clutching my bleeding shoulder. It was pulsing with pain. It was something I had to ignore. I slashed my way as best as I could through the three walkers that were now all together. I couldn't take them on now that they were side by side.

I hacked off the head of one walker, before another grabbed me. I raised the machete to kill it, but the other walker grabbed my arm and tried eating it. I had to drop the machete and push the walker back with my feet, before punching it in the face. I grabbed both walkers by the necks as we were pushed out into deeper water. The walkers continued to growl, claw at my arms, and try to bite either my hand or arms. Each arm had to wrestle with them in order to not get bitten.

Soon, I could no longer feel the sandy bottom of the river. I sunk momentarily into the deep rushing water, struggling with the walkers and struggling to get air. And now, struggling with the powerful current. I could feel my strength fading away. The panic and desperation for air taking over. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't reach Daryl. My throat began to close and strangle itself as I didn't get more air. The two walkers only pulled me deeper into the water. I couldn't see them clearly with the salty water stinging my eyes. All I saw were their gray bodies in the dirty green water. It was all smudged and blurry. Now, my vision was fading along with my life. Last thing I saw were bright bursts of red and another body jumping into the water.

"C'mon, Anza! Breathe!" begged Daryl.

Was I dying again? No, I wasn't dead. I could still feel my body. I just couldn't move. I was immobilized. I couldn't even feel my heart beating. I couldn't breathe. There was water in my throat and lungs, yet I wasn't coughing to try and get it out. I was stuck. My body was tossed onto some wet sand. I felt something pressing against my heart. Then, someone's lips on mine. His breathe couldn't fill the water trapped in my lungs. "Anza!" Daryl shouted, continuing to push his hands above my heart. "Don't ya die, prom queen!"

I'm here.

His lips pressed themselves against mine to keep doing CPR, but that was when I came back. It was like electricity had been shot through me. I began coughing up water as I felt Daryl's lips leave mine. I rolled over on my side, choking in pain as all the water left my lungs and mouth. I still couldn't breathe. My chest hurt so badly. After another moment, my lungs were clear. I collapsed on the sand with my eyes closed. I breathed deeply.

"Anza, can you hear me?" Daryl asked, his voice frantic.

I coughed once more. "Yeah, I just...I can't move..." I breathed. "Or think..."

I was feeling sleepy again. I felt at complete ease and free of pain as my mind slipped into the darkness.

* * *

I was hearing a strange noise. It sounded like the waves of an ocean. I soon realized that it wasn't when I could suddenly feel my sleeping bag. I opened my eyes to find myself in my tent. Sky was sitting across from me, eating a granola bar and reading my Dragonball Z manga. "Hey," I croaked. "You okay?"

Sky nodded once. I noticed how nice and neat her shoulder length black hair was. She also had a new coat. Must have gotten it from our trip to town.

I remembered that it was just a flap of flesh dangling by a thread. That walker almost ripped it out entirely. There were stitches all around the wound. I also noticed that the stitches from the bite that Sophia gave me were removed. I could see the new pink flesh forming over the bite. There were also some faint lines across my arms from where Sophia had scratched me. This was all going to scar. Same with the stab wound I got from my heart. The stitches were still there though.

I exhaled, before getting up out of the tent. Dale and Carol were sitting around the campfire. Carol gave a light smile to me. "Hey, how you doin', kiddo?" she asked.

"I've had better days," I groaned, rubbing my shoulder wound.

"You're just getting beaten up left and right, aren't ya, kid?" Dale sighed. He threw another piece of wood onto the fire. I sat beside Carol, pouring myself some chicken broth that they were brewing. "Fucking bandits, how many of those fuckers are there?" I asked, looking all around me.

"What is it?"

"I haven't seen Walker lately, where is he?"

"He's probably up by the barn again," Dale admited, scratching his head of short white hair. I looked over to see that Walker was digging in front of the barn door. He was barking wildly in front of it. Hershel walked over to where Walker was and grabbed him by the collar. He began yanking the wolfdog towards our camp. The wolfdog relented after a few seconds, both made their way towards us. Hershel released Walker when he approached us. There was a stern look on his face. "You need to keep a leash on that dog, and pick up after him," Hershel warned. "I've been seeing dog poop all over the farm."

I scratched my head with embaressment. "Sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"Thank ya," Hershel said. "How is your shoulder?"

"Real sore right now."

"I repaired your shoulder as best as I could. That flesh was hanging by a string, you're lucky the...infected...didn't completely rip it out" I noticed how he avoided saying 'zombie' or 'walker' "So, you might suffer nerve damage to your shoulder area."

I tossed the soup can into the fire. "Great," I grumbled. "Thanks a lot, Hershel. I appreciate it"

Hershel bowed his head once before making his way back to his house. We made sure he was well gone before talking again. "Seems awfully eager to keep us away from the barn." Carol commented.

I looked suspiciously at the barn. "Does Walker go near that barn every day?"

"Pretty much, he goes crazy wen he's there." Dale sighed.

It was then silent. It took a moment for them to realize what I was thinking. Dale looked at me with wide eyes. "You don't think...?" he began.

"Walker only gets that crazy when there's walkers nearby," I stated, standing up. "That old man is hiding something in there. I have to find out what."

Glenn then emerged from behind the RV. "You won't have to do that."

"Why not?" I asked.

"There are walkers in the barn," Glenn admitted. "That's not all, Lori is also pregnant."

He then looked down at the ground in shame. I looked at him with pure shock. "What?" I nearly exclaimed. "Why? Why do they have walkers in the barn?"

"Lori is pregnant?" Carol whispered, exasperated.

"Because they're Hershel's family. His wife, stepson, and other friends are in the barn." Glenn answered my question.

Dale narrowed his eyes. "He's keeping them alive until there is a cure?"

"They're not alive, they're dead." I reasoned. "No cure can bring back the dead."

"And we've been living near a hazard the entire time and we never even knew." Dale said, with disappointment in his voice. "Rick and especially Shane are gonna flip when they hear of this."

Carol said nothing. I could see her eyes watering. Maybe Carol wished that she could have done that for Sophia. Glenn then waved his arms in objection. "No, no, no, we can't tell them! At least, not yet." He then looked away. "I gotta figure out how to tell them without creating a mess."

I took a sip of my drink. "Too late for that."


	25. Secrets

"Call me Ishmael—"

"—Call me already bored," Daryl interrupted, poking a hole in the screen of his tent with one of his arrows. I pretended that he hadn't said anything and continued reading from the book. "Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me—"

"—Shit, this book is boring!" Daryl complained loudly. I groaned once. Daryl was lying on his side and forced to listen to me read to him. "You can read me anythin' but that whale book."

I closed the book. "The book is called _'Moby Dick'_," I stated, in a calm voice. But, anyone could tell that I was clearly annoyed. Daryl snorted loudly, with his typical bad boy grin showing. "They should've called the book _'Moby Dyke'_." Daryl then laughed at his own joke. He thought he was so clever.

I rolled my eyes at the Dixon. "You're so immature sometimes," I snapped, before picking up where I left off. "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth—"

Daryl snorted again.

"Oh, grow up, Daryl." I sighed at him. I couldn't help but smile though. This was keeping me more entertained than reading. Daryl grabbed the book from me, skimming through all the pages. "I dun even get what this stupid book is 'bout. Is it about a whale?" Daryl inquired, turning to me.

I gave a slight smirk. "Read it and find out."

"No, too borin'. Give me the general plot of it and _maybe_ I'll read it."

"It's about about Captain Ahab's quest for revenge against a white sperm whale."

Daryl raised an eyebrow, like this story was stupid or something. "Revenge against a fucking whale?"

"The whale destroyed his ship and ate Ahab's leg." I reasoned. "His thirst for revenge is what destroys him in the end. Moby drags Ahab into the deep ocean and drowns him."

Daryl tossed the book into my lap. "Mhm, _very_ interesting," Daryl hummed, closing his eyes. I could tell that he was not at all interested. But, I decided to keep Daryl company in his tent since he wasn't allowed to move for a few days. The others also didn't want Daryl to try and over exhert himself. So, they tasked me with showering him in attention. There was a gentle tapping on the tent. Both of us turned to see Glenn standing awkwardly beside the tent. "Hey, uh, could I talk to you for a second, Anza?" Glenn asked.

"Sure," I replied, turning to Daryl. "Don't burn the tent down while I'm away okay?"

"I'll try not too," he grumbled in response. He shifted a few times in his sleeping bag before trying to get some sleep. I walked a few yards away with Glenn. "What is it?" I then asked.

Glenn exhaled deeply. "It's Lori," he admitted. "C-Could you talk to her for me?"

"About what?" I asked.

"T-The baby, she wants to take anti-abortion pills and uh, I dunno if she's making the right choice."

"I can't say anything about that, Glenn."

Glenn frowned once. I could see that this was really upsetting to him. His slanted black eyes then looked into mine. "Look, I think she needs a friend, er, a female friend. Rick doesn't even know about the baby. She's really scared right now. Could you please—just talk to her?"

I sighed heavily before stalking off. "I'll do my best, but no promises." I muttered to Glenn. I walked towards the Grimes tent. There, I spotted Lori in there frantically ripping apart some pills. Her hands were trembling as she struggled to swallow a packet of them. The box read 'Morning After Pill'.

"You okay?" I asked, and immediately Lori knocked over the package of pills. They fell to the ground. She sighed in relief and placed her hand over her heart when she saw that it was me. Lori ran a hand through her long, messy black hair. "Scared the shit outta me." she breathed.

I sat down at the table in the opposite chair. "Sorry, wasn't my intention." I said.

Lori quickly grabbed the package and remaining pills off the table. She didn't want me to see them. "I know the truth, Lori," I said, with a slightly sad look. Lori then stared off, breathing deeply. She looked disappointed in herself. "Glenn told you?"

"Yeah, he's pretty worried about you, that's the only reason why. He wanted me to talk to you since he thought you needed a female friend."

Lori smiled briefly at that. It quickly faded away as she stared blankly at the table. I could see the distress and guilt in Lori's face. She didn't want to say anything to me. So, I decided to talk. "So, you not keeping the baby?" I asked.

"It's my choice," Lori answered, almost bitter towards me.

"It's Rick's too," I countered.

Her light green eyes met mine. I could see that she wanted to be angry at me, but she couldn't. Lori looked away in shame. "I...I just can't. I can't raise a baby in a monstrous world such as this." she said, her lips trembling. She covered her face with her hands and began sobbing. I got up from my chair to sit next to Lori on the bench. "Hey, it's okay, Lori," I assured her, placing my arms around her.

"No, it's not gonna be okay!" Lori cried.

I rocked her in my arms as Lori began full on crying. She clung to my shirt with her tears staining them. Now, I felt like I was the parent comforting a child. I looked back to see Sky staring from a few yards away. I gave her a slight smile before lifting Lori up. She blew her nose in a napkin. "This baby is better off not existing." Lori seethed, wiping away her tears.

"C'mon, you can't just say that like you know what's going to happen," I stated. "You should give the child a chance."

"A chance to what? Live a painful existence? To get ripped apart and devoured alive by walkers?" She asked with wide eyes, continuing to cry. I sighed heavily as I rubbed her gently on the back. "You aren't alone in this decision, Lori. This is Rick's child too. He isn't going to get mad at you for this. I think he'd be mad if you didn't tell him," I advised her. "You and Rick are married. You love each other and you should be deciding this together."

Lori snickered once through the tears, before rubbing her forehead. "You sound like my marriage counselor," she laughed. "Said the most inspirational, pretentious bullshit to me."

I couldn't help but laugh too, before frowning with embarrassment. "If you want, I can tell Rick, though you kinda did just eat a bunch of those pills." I offered.

Lori picked up the Morning After Pills packet. She was deep in thought before turning to me. "No, I have to tell him," she stated. "I also have to puke these pills up. Can you tell Rick to meet me in the field? If that's alright with you."

"No, it's not," I reassured her. "It's fine."

Lori wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug. I smiled awkwardly, patting her on the back. "Thank you, Anza," she said.

"Whatever you two decide, Lori. It's not our decision." I assured her.

Lori smiled, getting up and walking out of the tent towards the wheat field. Sky walked up to me and hugged me from behind. I held onto her hand for a moment. I heard some footsteps dragging across the dirt. Rick found me and Sky in his tent. He looked at me with confusion and suspicion as to why I was there. "Have you seen Lori?" he asked.

"Yes, she's at the field, she wants to talk to you." I stated.

Rick narrowed his eyes as he stepped in front of the table. He picked up the blue packet of Morning After Pills. My heart sank. I forgot to hide those. I could see anger building up in Rick's face as he held the packet in his hands. He had been lied to. Rick stomped out of the tent towards the grassy field. I groaned once, covering my face. "Fuck." I cursed.

"What was that about?" Daryl asked, when I returned to the tent.

I sat beside him. "Oh, nothing," I lied. He snorted at that. Daryl continued to look at me with suspicious eyes. Then, I could see that he was geniunely concerned. "Somethin' wrong, prom queen?"

"No, everything is okay."

Daryl didn't seem convinced by my answer. Reluctantly, he returned to trying to read Moby Dick.

* * *

It had been three days since we were attacked by bandits in the forest, things seemed to be going to shit against. Dark was still weak from his gunshot wound, but knowing how stubborn he was, he would be walking around even if it killed him. That morning, most of us sat around the campfire. Carol was making bacon and scrambled eggs for everyone. Daryl limped over, still in pain from the gunshot wound, and sat next to me. I noticed Lori and Dale shooting us looks. Carl whispered something to Sky, who glanced over to us and laughed. Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What you two laughin' at?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing. Just something stupid." Carl smiled.

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Nothing." Carl insisted.

I gave a heavy sigh as Daryl and Carl went back and forth at each other like a couple of children. I saw Carol smile and suppress a laugh while she cooked more eggs. Shane wasn't paying attention at all. He sat on the bench sharpening his hunting knife. I glared at him. I wouldn't be dealing with Shane for much longer.

Glenn gathered everyone around the campfire, and I knew why. After tensing up and unsure of how to say it, he said it. "So, um, there's walker's in the barn."

That calm and relaxed sunny morning immediately disappeared as everyone was suddenly tense and vigilant. Glenn lead us to the barn, holding Walker on a leash. The wolfdog began barking and scratching at the farm door. I stepped forward and wrapped his leash around his muzzle, preventing him from barking further. I didn't want Hershel or co. to find out that we were here. "Walker is goin' crazy, that must mean there are walkers in there." T-Dog pointed out.

We all stood a few yards away from the rickety old barn. Shane was the only one who went to look inside. He peered through a crack in between the wood. He returned to us with a disgusted look on his face. "We have to deal with this!" Shane snarled, now angry.

"We can't, Shane! We're guests here!" Rick nearly yelled, just as angry as his partner was.

"Screw that, this is our lives! That's more important than anything!"

"The barn is safe and secure, no walkers are gettin' out!"

"You don't know that!"

Everyone was silenced when the barn doors began to shake and stretch out towards us. The chains and piece of wood barricading the doors prevented that. A fearful Lori and Carol took Carl and Sky back to the camp. The rest of us stepped back from the danger. Shane glared at all of us intently as if this was our fault. He spat once on the ground before walking around the barn to inspect it.

I began to feel my shoulder burning. I clasped my hand over it. I could feel the ridged stitches all around the bite mark. Daryl noticed this. "You okay?" he asked, intently.

I nodded once. "The sooner I get out of here, the better."

I walked back to the camp. Daryl clung beside me like glue. He didn't leave my side until I was back to the campfire. Daryl offered to help me down into the chair, like I had broken my legs or something. "No, I'm fine, thank you though." I reassured him.

I could feel everyone's gaze watching me and Daryl interacting with each other. Carol was pretending to read her book, but I could see her eyes flickering to us. Rick and Lori, who were standing nearby, seemed just as confused by Daryl wanting to help me. I could hear Daryl breathing through his nose. Then, he turned around and stalked off without a word. I looked confusedly at the warm campfire.

Lori sat down in the chair across the fire from me. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you and Daryl...?" she began to ask, only to trail off. I immediately felt the heat flare up in my face with embarrassment. "What? No! Of course not!" I instantly denied, grabbing _'Moby Dick'_ and shoving my face into the book. Lori, Rick, and Carol all glanced at each other. But, even I didn't seem convinced by my own answer.


	26. Familiar Suffering

All of us left it to Rick to talk to Hershel about the walkers in the barn while Andrea seemed to be waiting outside of the house for something. I was busy cleaning out the drainage from the incision above my heart. I was supposed to be taking it easy after that had happened. I pushed my luck by being thrown off a horse and landing in dirty water on that muddy beach. But, I couldn't let Daryl die.

I felt a sharp pain in my heart. My hands were clenched to the bone as I endured the few moments of stabbing pain. "You okay?" I heard Dale ask from behind me.

I turned around to see Dale. "No, I'm not," I answered, frustrated.

Dale frowned once before sitting next to me. He tended to the campfire. "I had heart surgery a few years ago, I know the feeling. You feel useless those first five to six weeks. You can barely do anything. Can't drive, can pretty much only walk around the house, can't lift up anything heavy, it's a nightmare for awhile," Dale described his own experience, while I listened intently. "But, you're one tough kid, Anza. Survived the outbreak, have gotten shot at, and bitten a couple of times."

I looked to the bite wound on my shoulder. It was stitched up and healing. Now, I had three damn bite marks from walkers. The first one on my neck was now fully healed. But, now it was a scar. I knew the bite and scratch marks on my arm from Sophia would scar too. Just like this wound over my heart. That wasn't the only thing hurting though.

"Just barely, I don't think I can recover normally. I can't be bothered sitting around and resting for a month and a half. It's impossible. Rick is supposed to be resting too after giving like three liters of blood, but he's up and around. I think I'll be fine too." I admitted, wiping the incision with a dry napkin. Now, I had to clean out the wound on my shoulder. Dale offered to help me. I cringed when he held out the peroxide. "I don't want to give you a heart attack, so we have to do this slowly," Dale said with a frown. This was going to be even more painful. He poured the peroxide in small amounts. I clung to my seat and gritted my teeth in pain. I could hear the sizzling of the wound from the peroxide. There was white all around it. I felt like Dale was pouring hot grease on my shoulder. He dabbed the wound dry. "So, you and Daryl seem pretty close," Dale then said.

This was something I did not want to talk about. "Yeah," was all I said.

"He a nice guy?" Dale inquired.

I shrugged. "Sometimes, he can be a prick for most of it,"

"What do you guys do together?"

"He's been teaching me how to hunt and survive in the woods. The other day, he was teaching me how to track," I listed. "Daryl said he'd teach me how to ride a motorcycle in a few days since I found that nice Yamaha in the woods."

Dale snickered once, pleased at how our relationship had grown. "I'm glad for you, Anza." he smiled, then pondering his next words. "Are you guys...together?"

I rolled my eyes before standing up. "Why does everybody think that?" I sighed, picking up a peach from the basket Glenn got from Maggie. I took a bite out of the sweet peach. Dale shrugged. "We see you together all the time," Dale defended himself. "And I see the way Daryl looks at you. He's so protective of you."

I snorted, throwing my head back once in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me, old man."

"I'm serious, I think Daryl likes you." Dale smiled with assurance, almost laughing. He was teasing but serious at the same time.

"Okay, we are not having this talk, grandpa!" I said, walking out of the camp. I heard Dale chuckle a few times to himself.

While walking away, I noticed Rick walking into the forest with Hershel and Jimmy. I wondered what they were doing but let it be. I could see Maggie and Glenn arguing on the front lawn. I had seen them together all the time too. I remembered when Glenn wanted to be with me all the time after I arrived at the Atlanta camp. Now, he was with Maggie all the time. I wondered if they were a couple.

I wondered if me and Daryl were the same. Could I really like him? I felt knots form in my stomach. I didn't want to like Daryl Dixon that way, but I found that I couldn't help it. I refused to admit it.

There was a sneeze from behind me. I looked to see Sky taking Walker out on a walk. The wolfdog woofed once at me. I smiled, petting him on the mane. His tongue was dangling from his mouth and he was panting heavily. "Don't worry, we'll be leaving here soon, we won't have to deal with Shane." I assured Sky.

I saw Sky frown. I could tell that she didn't think that was the best thing to do, even though Shane tried to kill her. I walked silently around the compound with Sky and Walker. During that time, I noticed Dale disappear and Shane marching around in anger. Shane stalked off into the forest. He used to be a couragous leader, now he was dark and cruel. Shane scared me more than anything right now.

"Hey, how ya feelin'?" Daryl asked from behind me. I turned around to him with a light smile. I could see Sky shooting me a smile too. I ignored her. "Same old, as usual," I replied.

Daryl nodded once, his blue eyes staring at the incision over my heart and bite mark on my shoulder. "Good, I'm glad," he then said, lowering his head so I could only see his matted brown hair. It was then silently awkward for a few moments. I saw T-Dog walk down the steps. He had a cheesy grin on his face as he walked across the lawn. "How you two love birds doing?" T-Dog asked.

I nearly spat out the peach I was eating. "We're not love birds!" I then shouted.

_"Sure."_ T-Dog laughed, still walking off. "Keep tellin' yourselves that!"

"I will!"

I heard Sky giggle once. Daryl had an annoyed look on his face. "What are you laughin' at?" Daryl snapped. "Ain't nothin' to laugh at!"

Sky was definitely enjoying this. It had been a long time since I had seen her this happy. Sky had a wide grin on her face, she then made a heart with her two hands. Daryl slapped her hands. Sky snickered before running off with Walker, the wolfdog followed her intently. Daryl was only annoyed, he wasn't truly angry, which surprised me.

"Oh my God," I groaned. I felt so embarrassed that I couldn't even look at Daryl. I could feel his gaze. He looked as unsure as I did. We didn't have time to say anything because Shane came storming towards us with the black bag of guns. I didn't see Dale with him. I then strode past Daryl and walked up to Shane. I immediately thought the worst. What if Shane killed Dale to silence him? Me and Sky were next. "Where's Dale?" I demanded.

He gave me a cold look from his dark eyes. "The old man is still in the forest, slow as fuck," Shane answered, tossing Daryl a shotgun. He began passing out guns to everyone, even giving a rifle to Sky. Shane gave me a handgun. "What the fuck are you doing, Shane? We're not supposed to have guns on this property!" Lori then yelled, having stepped out of the house.

"Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." Shane ranted with his speech, holding out a shotgun to Glenn. "How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?"

Glenn hesitantly took the gun.

"That's it." Shane smiled. "Can you shoot?"

Maggie walked up right into Shane's face, furious. "Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"Hershel, he's just gotta understand." Shane then said in a lower and calmer voice. I tossed the rifle onto the ground. "This is not your call to make, Shane. You're just going to fuck everything up_–_"

"_–_Shut up, you idiot," Shane hissed at me. "Of course, you have nothing to worry about! You can't get infected!"

"No, but I can still get ripped apart!" I pointed out.

"Then, pick up your gun and stand your ground." Shane snapped right into my face.

I glared right back into his heartless eyes. I opened my mouth to say something else when I saw T-Dog's shocked expression. He pointed towards the forest. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed. We all turned to where T-Dog was looking at. I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw Hershel, Jimmy, and...Rick...holding walkers on leashes.

"You've gotta be _fucking_ kidding me!" Shane shouted, charging towards the group like an enraged rhino. T-Dog, Andrea, Glenn, Lori, Carl, and Sky ran after him. I tried to run, but a sharp pain shot through my heart. I winced once, collapsing on my knees. Carol and Patricia grabbed each arm and lifted me up. Daryl stayed beside me, holding his gun and my gun.

"What is that? What is that?" Shane was yelling at Rick. I could hear them all arguing. Suddenly, there were gunshots. Shane was shooting the walker in the chest that Hershel was holding onto with the leash. "Shane, stop it!" Rick yelled.

Shane ignored him. "Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" he demanded from the old man, before pointing at the squirming walker. "Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?!"

"Shane, enough!" Rick roared at his partner, still holding onto his walker with the leash.

"You're right, that is enough," Shane yelled.

Shane raised his gun and shot the walker that Hershel was holding point blank in the face. The now dead walker slumped to the ground. So did Hershel, who dropped to his knees with despair. Shane marched up to the doors of the barn, tearing apart the locks. The walkers inside were pounding and pushing against the door, eager to come out and feed.

"Carl, Sky, get inside!" Lori exclaimed, trying to get the two children back inside. "Shane, you stop this right now!" Rick screamed at Shane, unable to stop his partner. Rick then tried to have Hershel hold the walker he had so he could stop Shane. But, Hershel was too devastated to do anything. Shane picked up a pick axe beside the barn door. "Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!" Shane hollered, slamming the pickax through the locks. The doors slowly opened as Shane backed away with his gun drawn. Daryl stepped protectively in front of me, not allowing me to stand at the front. Shane shot the first walker to exist the barn. The rest was chaos. Daryl, T-Dog, Andrea, and soon Rick were shooting every walker that came out of the barn. Glenn began firing after Maggie nodded at him once.

Gunshots filled the air. A body would drop every time one was fired. Sharp pain began to shoot up through my chest again. This time, it was so much worse. I groaned in pain, crumbling to the ground. It felt like needles were inserted into my heart.

"Anza, are you alright?" Patricia from beside me, as she and Patricia tried to comfort me. I noticed Daryl glance back at me once. He reluctantly went back to killing all of the walkers

How could I be alright? My heart couldn't take this anymore. It would never end. I closed my eyes wishing for it all to be over. I felt a warm liquid in my hand. I looked down at my chest to see that a couple of the stitches over my heart had snapped open. Blood was drizzling from the wound. How? I didn't even snag the stitches open.

Carol covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't watch it anymore of this killing and ran back into the house. Lori was covering the faces of Sky and Carl. I heard one final gunshot, and a grave silence overcame our group. No one moved for a long time. I could hear Beth crying hysterically beside her father. Daryl knelt over to help me to my feet. I still clutched my bleeding and stinging chest as I stood up. I was having a hard time walking in this amount of pain. Daryl moved my now bloody hand so he could inspect the wound. He moved his thumb against the bloody, broken stitches. "C'mon, we'll get ya fixed up," Daryl stated, wrapping a strong arm around my waist to help me walk. I wrapped my arm across his shoulders for support. Patricia stayed behind when she saw that I had Daryl's help. Me and Daryl were both silent as we made our way back to the camp. When Dale saw me bleeding, he opened the RV door for me and Daryl, who set me down on the couch. "I'm gonna go get Hershel to repair these stitches," Daryl said. "Watch her."

I exhaled once, placing my hand over my heart. Dale grabbed a towel and handed it to me. I pressed it against the now profusely bleeding wound. Most of the stitches had broken. "How did that happen?" Dale asked in shock.

"I dunno, they snapped open once the shooting started." I answered. "Maybe because of the bandits attacking me in the forest, they might've roughed the stitches up a bit."

Dale scratched his head. We waited for about fifteen minutes. What was taking so long? The towel was starting to get bloody. My heart was beating too fast, it hurt too much to breathe, tears began forming in my eyes, and feelings of intense sadness overcame me. I began crying. Dale sat beside me. "Hey, it's going to be okay," he assured me.

"I think I'm gonna disappear," I sniffled. I could feel my vision fading on me. I was getting sleepier and sleepier. Dale began talking urgently to me but I couldn't understand what he was saying. My head fell against the pillow as I passed out.


	27. Bleeding Hearts

By the time I had woken up, it was already dark. I was still in the camper. There was a stinging pain over my heart. I looked to see that the stitches had been repaired. I tried to get up, but Dale gently pushed me back down. "No, no, no, no, you can't move after somethin' like this," Dale told me. "If you're having chest pain, you need to rest."

I breathed out deeply, reluctantly laying back on the couch. My face cringed with pain. I clutched my heart again. "It fucking hurts," I growled. "I can feel those stitches and it fucking hurts."

Dale frowned. "Daryl had to do the stitches without any painkillers, course you passed out."

I looked at him with confusion. "Daryl did the stitches? Why didn't Hershel do them?"

"He was too devastated to do anything right after what happened at the barn. His daughter Beth passed out from a state of shock." Dale explained, sitting at the table. "But, he disappeared this afternoon. So, Rick and Glenn went after him. They haven't returned since."

Okay, I wasn't sitting down. I threw the blankets off of me and got up. "Anza, please, you can't be walking around-" Dale insisted, trying to get me to lay down on the couch again. I resisted and pushed his hand away. "I'll be fine, I've gone through worse." I assured him, stubbornly. I knew Dale was only looking out for me, he was like a kind grandfather to me. But, I couldn't be resting at a time like this.

I went to go find Daryl. I was surprised to see that his tent was missing. He moved it. I saw a small fire off in the distance and Daryl's figure beside it. I sighed once, walking across the field towards him. Daryl was poking at the small wooden fire he had made. He looked up at me before getting up and coming closer to me. "Prom queen," he said.

"Hillbilly," I smiled. Daryl snorted loudly at that. By now, I knew he was just amused. I could see him giving me a coy smile. "Why'd you move your camp?"

"Thought it'd be best to distance myself." Daryl answered, sitting back down. "Gotta get outta camp."

"Why?" I inquired.

I heard Daryl grumble with annoyance. "Good Lord, I can't just get outta camp and be left alone now can I?"

"No, you can do what you want, I was just wondering," I shrugged. I couldn't say I blamed Daryl. I had been feeling the same way for days. I didn't want to be in this group any longer because of Shane and maybe Andrea. But, I didn't want to leave either because of the people here. Rick, Lori, Carl, Dale, Carol, T-Dog...and Daryl...I felt my stomach form into a knot again. I was torn between leaving and staying. I sat down across from him in front of the fire. I stared at the crackling flames in deep thought. I heard a noise from beside me. Walker padded around the fire and rubbed his muzzle against Daryl's shoulder. Daryl petted the wolfdog. Now, Walker seemed to be more relaxed since those walkers in the barn were now dead. Granted, I think we all were, except for the Greene family.

There were footsteps from behind us. I turned to see Shane stalking towards us. Me and Daryl instantly tensed. I could see Daryl had his hand on his crossbow. Shane came into the light of the fire. "Have you seen Lori?" he asked.

"Olive Oil wanted my help out lookin' for those three idiots downtown this afternoon," Daryl explained. "Haven't seen her since."

"She went alone?" Shane said, growing more angry.

Daryl shrugged. "Guess so."

I turned to Daryl with an exasperated look. "Wait, wait, wait, you just let Lori go downtown _by herself?"_

"Yeah, so?"

I got to my feet._ "So?_ I can't believe you sometimes!" I shouted, marching off.

"She ain't my responsibility!" Daryl yelled after me.

A sharp pain shot through my chest. I nearly stumbled over onto the ground. I growled in agony and irritation. Shane just walked past me, not giving a shit that I was in intense pain. If anything, he relished it. After the pain passed, I continued towards the house. I found myself having trouble walking through the porch. Okay, maybe Dale was right, I did need to rest. My heart couldn't take this much longer.

I entered the dining room, where the table had been nicely set by Carl. There was ham, buttered corn, and fresh bread rolls on the table. Patricia placed a jug of milk on the table. She had a troubled look on her face. I was surprised Patricia made us food considered we killed all the walkers in the barn. She patted me on the shoulder and gave me a gentle smile, before walking away. Maybe it was because I didn't shoot any walkers?

"Where's Sky?" I asked.

Maggie, T-Dog, Glenn, and Carl all looked to each other. I immediately thought the worst. "Um, actually, now that I think about it, I saw your red truck leave the farm." Carl awkwardly admitted. I was instantly alert and even more angered.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me? Again?" I ranted. "How hard is it to keep your eyes on a God damn kid!? I was passed out for Pete's sake! Couldn't you-"

I felt like someone had just squeezed my heart. I collapsed backwards into the chair. Everyone at the dinner table instantly stood up and tensed. Patricia and Maggie were at my side. My chest was hurting even more badly than before. "This pain!" I groaned. "Damn it all!"

Shane grabbed one of the rifles from the duffle bag of weapons. "I'm going after them, just eat dinner and relax, don't give yourself a heart attack." Shane reassured me, opening the door. Oh, hell no. He was the last person I wanted to go out there to look for Lori. The fears of Shane taking advantage of the situation to kill Sky instantly overcame me.

"Shane,"

He looked back at me with an empty look. I was glowered at him, my hand covering my hurting chest. "I swear to God, if_ anything_ happens to Sky, I will rip your God damn head off!" I hissed at him. "Dale might not have been able to do it, _but I will!"_

My voice was absolutely drenched with venom and antagonism. Shane had no expression on his as he stared into my hate filled eyes. Everyone was staring at me with shock and confusion as to why I was so angry. Patricia had her mouth opened, still holding onto a plate she was going to set on the table. Dale was the only one who wasn't shocked. He knew why I was infuriated. So did Shane. "You ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout, prom queen." Shane replied, calmly. "Sky is a tough kid, she ain't dead."

I felt even more enraged. He used my special nickname that Daryl gave me! Shane slammed the door behind me. "Don't ever call me 'prom queen', you piece of shit!" I screamed at him. I was left panting heavily in agony. Patricia forced me to sit down in the chair. "You need to calm down, right now!" Patricia scolded me. "Your heart is very weak right now, you are in no condition to be getting pissed off like that for no reason!"

No reason? I scoffed at that. Although I was surprised that Patricia said 'pissed off'. She threatened to wash my mouth out with soap if I kept swearing. Course, I knew she was joking, but still. Patricia and Maggie each grabbed one of my arms and held it tightly around their shoulders. They carried me up the steps, my feet dragging along the stairs as they did so. Both of them laid me down on the bed beside Beth.

Beth looked like she was unconscious. Her blue eyes were wide open in shock, her platinum blond hair stranded across the pillow. It looked like Beth was the one who had the heart attack. "Just relax, everything will be okay," Maggie told me. "Patricia will bring your food up here."

I was breathing as smoothly as I could through the sharp pains in my chest. "Everything will be okay when Sky and Lori get back," I answered. Maggie gave me a slight frown. I refused to allow myself to be lied and coddled too. I closed my eyes, making myself comfortable in the soft bed. Nothing was ever okay.

About thirty minutes later, I saw my brick red Wagoneer pull up onto the lawn. Sky stepped out of the driver's seat, before rushing around to help out Lori, who seemed to be emotionally shaken by her journey. Sky went out to go find Lori. I should've been proud of her, but the last time she showed such bravery, Sky was betrayed. I could hear them arguing from outside. Looks like Shane went out on his little journey for nothing. I couldn't help but smirk at that.

After a few minutes, Sky entered my room and sat beside me on the bed. I lightly grabbed her by the arm. She was wearing her favorite oversized purple jacket. "Sky," I croaked, sounding weak. "I know you only want to help, but you can't run off like that. Remember what happened last time you did?"

Sky cringed at the thought of the memory. Shane.

"I promised your mother I'd look after you, I can't always have my eye on you twenty-four seven," I went on. "I have to trust you to look after yourself too. So please, don't run off without telling me where you're going."

The small girl nodded once. Her near shoulder length black hair was messy as usual. It looked like she had just gotten into a fight. Sky probably saved Lori from a couple of walkers. Sky was about to leave, but then she walked back to me and left a book on my bedside. Sky then rushed out of the room. I grabbed the book. I snickered once. It was a motorcycle manual to the nice Yamaha R6 motorcycle I found in the forest from Harold.

I knew I couldn't drive now with my heart injury. I was going to leave this group sometime. I was going to need to know how to ride the motorcycle.

* * *

Rick, Glenn, and Hershel returned to the farm early that morning. They brought a guest along the way. There was someone blindfolded in the backseat. I wondered who he was. "His name is Randall." Glenn explained. "Apparently, he's part of those bandits in the woods."

Hershel stepped out of the car, he no longer looked lost. Hershel had a new found determination. "Pat, bring me my medical supplies into the shed. We're going to perform emergency surgery on his leg." Hershel ordered.

The middle aged blonde woman nodded once before rushing into the house. Rick and Shane dragged the injured prisoner into the shed. Hershel and Patricia performed surgery on the hole in his leg. Randall had gotten it stuck on a fence pike. I imagined that in my head and cringed. After the surgery was done, Rick brought us all together in the living room to talk about the fate of our uninvited guest. "What do we do with him?" Andrea asked, intensely concerned about this threat. She was growing more irrational too, just like her boyfriend Shane.

Hershel stood at the edge of the living room. "I repaired his calf muscles as best as I could, he'll probably suffer nerve damage though and won't be on his feet for a week." the old man disclosed to us.

"Well, when he's better we'll give him a canteen and send him on his way," Rick then said. I narrowed my eyes. "Send him on his way? He's been living with the same bandits that have been attacking us," I hissed. "He's one of them."

"I know, but he's just a kid."

"So what? That doesn't excuse rape and murder."

Daryl nudged me with his elbow, as if to tell me that he agreed. Shane stepped forward. "So we just let him go? What if he goes back to his group of bandits? We have to kill him, there's no other choice!" Shane stated.

I didn't think I would ever agree with Shane. But, I did with him on this point. Those bandits tried to rape and kill Beth, Sophia, and Sky. They were all just children. They fired at us and severely injured me and Daryl. No mercy to any of the bandits.

"He's out cold right now," Hershel stated, tossing the dark rag on the table. "We won't be able to question him until he wakes."

Shane growled and rolled his eyes before storming out of the house. "Fine, but it ain't gonna be me picking the daisies off your grave!" He shouted. The door slammed shut. Rick and Hershel exchanged uneasy glances.


	28. Blooming Hearts

We waited a week before questioning Randall, who was now able to walk. I was practically on bed rest the entire week because my heart injury was getting really bad. The stress and constantly over exerting myself was making it worse. So, Dale let me have his bedroom in the back of the RV while he had the couch.

I didn't know recovery from heart surgery would be this bad. It was aggravating for me to have to deal with feeling useless. It wasn't like I had a heart condition, other than being stabbed in the heart. But, I suppose I couldn't look at that lightly. Hardily anything ever phased me nowadays. There was fucking zombies. Nothing else could shock me I convinced myself.

Carol entered with a trey of food. "How're you feelin'?" she asked. I tossed the motorcycle manual to the side of the bed as I sat myself up. Carol set the trey on my lap. "I feel a lot better now, not as stressed out and have to go on fifteen minute walks," I stated, slicing into the piece of fried chicken that Patricia made. There was a side of salad and turnips.

"What about you?" I inquired, curiously.

Carol gave a shrug. "Just been...doing laundry and watching after Sky."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, Sky is a troublemaker. That's for sure." I smiled, taking a bite of my salad. I felt like I was just eating leaves since there was no ranch. But, I didn't have a choice. It wasn't as bad as the time I had to eat raw squirrel back in Atlanta, right after I had been "resurrected" from being bitten. "I'm glad that Sophia wasn't alone in the end, Sky was there with her." Carol then added.

I stared at my plate before glancing over to the now scarred bite mark on my left arm. The memory of the zombified Sophia tackling me and sinking her teeth into my arm. Blood spurting out. I yelled out once, punching her repeatedly in the face. I sighed, looking at the pink fleshy scar. There were faint scratch scars running down my arm from where Sophia had clawed me when we pinned her to the tree to...

"I'm sorry, Carol," I muttered.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. I wasn't strong enough to save her." Carol replied. "At least, I got to see her, one last time."

It wasn't enough for me though. I remembered Carol being in hysterics when Sophia had died. She had ripped out a bush filled with Cherokee Roses. The stickers left her hands scratched and bloody. Daryl had to clean out her wounds while Carol just cried. "You're stronger than you think," I then said. "I remembered when you were that beaten, submissive housewife. You've come a long way since then. I think if Ed came walking through the door, it would be you beating the crap outta him."

Carol grunted once before looking down at her lap. "Well, I don't know about that." she admitted. "I'd probably still need Walker to beat the crap outta him. Course, Walker killed him." She then sighed.

"Bastard deserved it though," I added, chewing on the piece of chicken. "Sophia was the one who found Walker remember?"

Carol smiled at the memory. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Sophia loved Walker, we never had a dog before. Ed wouldn't allow it."

It was then awkwardly silent as I finished up eating my small meal. Carol sat back in the chair beside the bed in the crowded RV room. I could see that she was deep in thought. I wondered if she was thinking about the old times.

"Give yourself more credit, Sophia would be proud of you." I tried to assure her. I knew it was the truth though. Carol gave me another sad smile before patting me gently on the shoulder. She left the RV to go help the group. I turned to my right shoulder that had the bite mark right on top of it. The stitches were going to be removed in a few days.

But the scars would forever remain.

* * *

I tossed my leg over the nice white Yamaha R6. I didn't get how a drug addict could get a bike this nice. Probably stole it or something. I put the keys into the motorcycle, which was on the top and not the side of it. turned it bringing the Yamaha to life. Daryl strode towards me. "You shouldn't be ridin' with your heart condition," he said. "Might give yourself a heart attack."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious. I rolled my eyes. "Bite me," I retorted. "I've gone through worse."

Daryl stepped next to me. "Know where the clutch is?"

I pointed to the lever on my left. I immediately regretted that as the motorcycle jerked forward, almost sending me falling to the ground. I quickly grabbed the grip. Daryl looked unconvinced about me doing this. "Brake?" Daryl quizzed me.

"Right foot."

"Wrong," Daryl answered, grabbing my right hand and placing it on the lever of the throttle. I looked at him with confusion. "The book said—" I began to say.

"—The book is wrong. This is the brake you should use. You can use the back break when you actually know what you're doing."

"Oh,"

I didn't bother arguing with Daryl. He owned a Harley and knew how to drive a motorcycle. Daryl grabbed my hands and placed them on the handlebars. He made my right hand pull the lever. Daryl was still holding on my hands. Our eyes met briefly. Daryl immediately removed his hands since things were getting awkward. "Okay, let's see if you really did yer homework. Where's the throttle?" Daryl questioned.

I twisted the right grip.

"And the gearshift?"

I looked down and nudged it with my left calf. Daryl slowly nodded before walking around the motorcycle. "I'll kick start it for you since you'll fall over," Daryl told me, slamming his foot down on the pedal. There was a short ripping noise and the bike was now alive underneath me. The bike almost knocked me over but I managed to retain balance. After giving it another kick, Daryl got the ignition caught. The motorcycle was rumbling underneath me like a wild animal. "Now very lightly, pull the throttle." Daryl instructed. "Don't let go of the clutch."

I twisted the right handle and slowly jerked forward. I felt like I had no control over this motorcycle. It was like an animal hungry for the road. "Do you know how to put it into first gear?" he asked.

I kicked the gearshift down one notch.

"Nice one, Anza." Daryl praised me. "Now, gently, ease up on the clutch. But, don't let go completely or you'll go flyin' and remember, the handlebars don't turn. You need to lean over to the side you want to turn on."

I nodded. "I know, I read the book twenty times." I answered, feeling slightly annoyed. Daryl grinned at me. I relaxed myself and let up on the throttle.

He was right. I was flying.

The wind blew against my skin and through my long hair, it felt like I was walking against a hurricane. This was a different kind of wind. I was zooming across the dirt ground around the farm. I turned into a slow curve around the house in the backyard, over the bumpy uprooted roots. I almost lost balance there. Then, I road back towards Daryl, pulling on the brake lever to my side. He had a pleased smile on his face. "That's pretty good, princess." he complimented, turning the keys and shutting off the motorcycle for me.

I eagerly got out of the motorcycle seat. "Can you take me out tracking now?"

Daryl laughed aloud once, walking away from me. "So eager!" he smiled. "You wanna be with the Daryl Dixon that badly?"

"Well, yeah!" I answered, running up beside him. "I want to learn how to track! I'm tired of bein' a third wheel around here!"

"You ain't a third wheel around here, prom queen," Daryl assured me. "You've done more than enough to contribute."

"I ain't a prom queen, either."

He had a surprised look on his face. "Really? You weren't a prom queen?"

"No, ha ha, I was in juvie at the time. I didn't even graduate high school." I looked at him with a frown, ashamed. "Why would you think that?"

"I dunno, you look like one."

I did a hair flip with my long darkest brown hair. "Is it cuz I'm so pretty?" I teased.

Daryl snorted and immediately looked away after I said that. I couldn't help but giggle. Daryl had an annoyed look on his face. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." I smiled innocently at him.

"Didn't sound like nothin' to me."

We were walking side by side like soldiers. I could feel the intent gazes of everyone on the porch as we passed by them on the lawn. Lori, Carl, Maggie, Glenn, T-Dog, Carol, and Sky were all talking there when we arrived. They already thought that me and Daryl were a couple since we were with each other so much. T-Dog waved at me with a wide grin on his face, relishing in teasing us. Sky made a heart shaped symbol with her hands again. She had a just as evil smile on her face as T-Dog. There was some gentle laughter at that. Me and Daryl tried to ignore it.

T-Dog didn't relent though, who began singing _'Never Gonna Give You Up'_ by Rick Astley. I remember that song being so annoying and overused as a meme before the apocalypse. _"Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you!"_ T-Dog began singing, who was also doing a terrible dance to it. Everyone on the deck erupted into laughter. Daryl growled once, picking up a fallen peach from the ground and throwing it at T-Dog. It hit him on the arm, like it really did anything. I could hear more chatter and laughter on the porch. I could feel the heat rising to my face. I could see Daryl looking just as embarrassed as I was. His face was just as red as mine. And it wasn't because he was angry. "Um," I awkwardly said. "Yeah, so...let's track!"

Daryl glanced at me with an annoyed and humiliated look on his face.


	29. The Second Coming

_Turning and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world._ The irony was the poem was called The Second Coming. I wondered if the 'Second Coming' was supposed to be zombies.

Before I could read any more, I heard some yelling from the Greene house. They were debating what to do with Randall's life. I chose not to get involved with the debate. Instead, I was out reading and keeping an eye out on Carl and Sky. They were playing in the field shooting each other with the Nerf guns Sky found down town. I could hear their laughter from under the tree that I was leaned up against one. At least Sky and Carl were looking happy. I've always been worried about Sky ever since I found the girl. Even more when Shane tried to kill her and Rick basically just ignored that. Recently, Carl was worrying me too. He was becoming more cold, like how Sky was in the beginning. He told a grieving Carol point blank that she was an idiot for believing in God, right after she lost her daughter.

I went back to reading the book. It was about the African system falling apart into utter chaos. Now, it fit in perfectly with the world today. Everything did fall apart. Just like this group was falling apart. Once I was better, I was fucking outta here.

I saw Dale storm out of the house. I saw tears in his eyes as he passed me. I shut the book. "Hey grandpa, you okay?" I asked.

He then approached me, tensed and frustrated. "No, I'm not okay. They're going judge, jury, and executioner on a kid!"

"Well, we don't exactly have a justice system to turn to with the world gone to shit."

"Yeah, but the boy didn't rape or murder anybody! He's just a scared kid wanting to survive!"

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," I answered, lowering my book. Dale seemed even more annoyed by that.

"Even you agree with them." he accused me, in an angry voice. "This is about keeping our humanity! Otherwise, we're no better than those walkers!"

I frowned, unsure of what to think. Dale always wanted to do what was right while Shane always wanted to what was wrong. There had to be a middle ground for there to really be good morals. "Believe me, if there was another way we could avoid killing him I would but we can't." I explained as best I could. "I know you only want to take the high road, we all know that Shane has taken the low road. But, there is no middle ground we can take. It's one or the other."

Dale gave me a stern look. "So you take the low road? Is that it?"

"We're not taking the low road, Dale. We've thought about this deeply. There's no other road we can take."

"Of course there is!"

"No, there isn't!" I answered, in a louder voice. "Life isn't full of rainbows or singing show tunes anymore, Dale! These are decisions that we must make. I'm not going to die for a piece of shit that is looking out for their own skin. He just stood there and watched people murdered and raped. You really wanna die for someone like that?"

"We're as good as dead already." Dale mumbled under his breath, walking away. There really was no in between. I wish there was. But, now we lived in a world where our lives mattered above everything else. I knew there were people out there who killed for fun. We didn't.

If we could avoid bloodshed, we would.

* * *

I dipped my head to avoid hitting it on a tree branch. My eyes were glued to the ground as I followed the footprints. Every turn of a leaf or twig was a sign that someone was here. The tracks began to go faint before reaching the bottom of a hill. I noticed some bark and loose material was kicked back, as people tend to dig their toes a little more when walking up a hill. I quickly went up the slope. A footprint dug into a fallen tree trunk that Daryl must have climbed over. I had been spending the past few weeks learning survival techniques as well as learning how to track and hunt. Every day it would be a different animal. We would hunt squirrels, raccoon, possums, rabbits, and deer. Walker would have the most glorious meals with the food we brought home. Daryl had even taught me how to fish and catch crayfish with only a few basic materials. Although Daryl was a very relentless teacher, he was strict and would bare down on me for every little mistake I would do. Maybe that was why I learned quickly.

The tracks stopped at a small creek. I looked all around me for any small disturbance. I smiled once I saw a broken tree branch and a muddy footprint on the side of a tree. Daryl was climbing through the trees. He was trying to make this as hard as possible. I knew by now that people weren't going to leave their tracks in the plain daylight.

I then spotted footprints underneath a tree. I began to follow them before I noticed that they formed a circle. The tracks didn't lead anywhere else. Well, where the fuck did Daryl go? There was a swishing noise as an arrow flew past the side of my face. It hit the tree trunk behind me with a thud. I looked up to see Daryl laughing and standing in a tree above the footprints. So that's how I couldn't track him. The bastard lifted himself off the ground by climbing onto that really low tree branch. I felt so dumb for not looking up in the trees.

Daryl jumped out of the tree with a loud thud of his boots. I shoved his crossbow away from him. "You scared the shit outta me man!" I hollered, irritated. _"Are you trying to give me a fuckin' heart attack?!"_

"Just a lil' fun," Daryl smiled at me. "Did I scare ya, prom queen?"

I rolled my eyes. I was hardly relaxed. I turned around and began walking away towards the camp. "You mad, princess?" Daryl laughed. I ignored him and continued walking. He strolled beside me as we made our way back. "No." I simply answered.

"You are."

"I'm fine."

It was silent for a few more minutes. I wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. But, it was Daryl who spoke. "You really leavin'?"

"Yeah, Shane is a psychopath and Rick is incompetent as a leader. It's not safe here for me and Sky. I'll probably be leaving in a few days. Why don't you come with us?" I offered. "You're sick of the group too."

"Where would we go?" Daryl inquired.

"My summer cabin up in Blood Mountain. It's isolated, but has a lot of resources. All the skills you taught me would come in handy," I nudged him once. "C'mon! You'd get to spend all your days with me!"

Daryl immediately looked away. I could see him hiding a smile. His face was starting to turn red with embarrassment. "I dunno," he smiled with uncertainty. "Sounds like torture to me."

There was a loud growling sound. A walker stumbled closer to us. Daryl lifted up his crossbow with an annoyed look on his face. He shot the walker in the face point blank. Daryl leaned over to yank out the arrow from the walker's brains. I couldn't take my eyes off the muscles in his arms while he did this. Now that I thought about it, Daryl Dixon was pretty attractive. Short and ragged dark blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, a mole on the right side of his mouth with facial hair on his lip and chin. A nice muscled body. This was the first time I really appreciated him. Course, his withdrawn and brash personality often shoved people away. There was a reason for that.

"What?" Daryl asked, noticing that I was staring at him. I snapped out of my daze. "Oh, nothing." I smiled, beginning to walk away. Daryl quickly followed after me.

"How's your chest wound doing?"

I looked down at my chest. I could partially see some of the stitches over my heart. "My heart can't take anymore of this." I admit ed, looking up at Daryl. He looked right back at me. We were so close that I could inhale his very breath. It was thick and musky, at least Daryl didn't have bad breath. His scent smelled like leather, oil, cigarette smoke, and...the forest. Daryl spent so much time in the woods that now he was started to smell like it. That combined with the fact that he hardly bathed. His tattered clothes and matted brown hair being evidence of that. But, I thought that made him more attractive. That was when I finally admitted it to myself after all this time.

I liked Daryl Dixon.

I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be in his presence. My blushing cheeks that burned so badly proved it. Daryl didn't say anything either. He seemed as uneasy as I was. Before we could say anything else, a green car zoomed across the farm. Rick and Shane stepped out of the car. They finally dumped the kid. Good riddance. They opened the trunk and pulled out Randall. Scratch that, they still had the kid.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me," I grumbled.

"They didn't kill that stupid kid?" Daryl growled. "What the actual fuck?"

We both headed down the hill, growing closer than we ever had before.

* * *

Apparently, Rick and Shane didn't dump the kid because he knew where the farm was. Now, they really were going to kill him. Dale wasn't going to be happy about this at all. I thought bloodshed would be avoided but there was nothing we could do. It was the late afternoon and by nightfall the kid was going to be dead. "You once said we don't kill the living," Dale protested.

"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick reasoned. "There is no other choice."

Rick walked back inside the house. That was when I noticed Dale storm around the house, towards the shed. I ran up to Dale, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you aren't thinking about releasing him, are you?" I asked.

Tears were glimmering in his eyes. "I'm going to do what's right, Anza. If no one else will."

I frowned. "Dale, I'm sorry, but I would chose your life over this stranger's life. Please understand that."

Sky noticed us standing by the house and calmly walked towards us. "I still can't allow this, Anza!" Dale continued. "It's wrong!"

"Dale, you're being ridiculous!" I stated. "There is no other choice!"

But, when we turned around, the shed door opened. Shane and a no longer blindfolded Randall exited the shed. They were talking to each other in a calm fashion. The three of us instantly knelt behind the bush to hide from them. "What the fuck is Shane doing?" I hissed. "Is he releasing Randall?"

Dale turned to me with a shocked look. "I never knew he had it in him to do good."

"No, Shane doesn't have it in him, something's not right." I stated, slowly shaking my head. "Let's follow them."

Shane and Randall began walking into the woods. Dale got up to leave until I extended an arm out for them to wait. "Let's wait a few minutes, I don't want them to hear or see us." I said.

"They'll be gone though!" Dale protested. "We won't know where they went!"

"I can track, Daryl taught me how." I smiled once.

That relieved Dale immensely. I quickly went to my tent to get my rifle and only remaining handgun. I raced back to Dale and Sky, where we both entered the forest. I handed Sky the gun while me and Dale held tightly to our rifles. We stepped cautiously through the forest. Every snap of a twig or crunching of the leaves made us anxious. Dale and Sky followed closely behind me as I followed their footprints. It got harder to track when the ground was only covered in leaves. The only proof I had of them walking through here were the overturned leaves. As I tracked Shane and Randall's footprints, I motioned Dale and Sky to stop. They came closer as they saw what I did. There was a pair of legs sticking out from behind a tree.

"Who is that?" Dale whispered.

"I think that's Randall," I muttered back to Dale.

"You sure?"

"Randall's leg got impaled by a spike remember?"

I gently padded closer towards the tree, all of our guns drawn. I then jumped in front of the tree where Randall was apparently laying back. I then raised my hand to Dale and Sky. "Yeah, it's Randall, he's a bit dead though." I explained. Dale and Sky quickly caught up to me. "What happened to him?" Dale asked.

I knelt in front of the now deceased Randall. His face was distorted with a look of confusion on his face. I noticed that the side of his neck was sticking out in an inhumane manner with some purple bruising and internal bleeding. "Someone snapped his neck," I stated. "Probably Shane."

I then stood up. Dale cursed once. "Of course Shane would act irrational and kill the kid without our permission, I've had it up to here with that murderer!" he growled. "We should've killed Shane the moment we learned he killed Otis and tried to kill Sky. If Rick still decides to keep Shane in the group, I'll take you and Sky and get the hell outta here."

"Sounds good to me." I nodded.

That was when I noticed Sky's eyes widen. She looked like she had seen a ghost. I frowned at the young girl. "Sky, you okay?" I asked. "Sky?"

She continued to stare past me with terror. "Anza, behind you!" Sky then shrieked, pointing at whatever was behind me. Dale immediately saw what Sky was seeing and gasped once, quickly shoving me to the ground. A gunshot rang loudly throughout the forest. Dale collapsed into the leaves. He had been shot. I quickly dragged the old man behind the tree trunk for cover. I laid him against the ground to examine his wound. Blood was blooming across his shirt. There was so much of it. The blood was pouring out in red rivers, even his shirt couldn't absorb it all. Dale began coughing up blood, no doubt it was filling up his lungs. I was panting and panicking, not knowing what to do. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. Dale was dying. I couldn't stop that. My lips trembled as I tried to figure out what to do. My mind was blank, only filled with pain and sorrow. A few trails of blood trickled down each side of Dale's mouth, staining his white beard. Despite the pain, Dale managed to smile up at me. "Dale." I then said in a clear voice. "Dale, please, don't go."

Dale patted me once on the arm before holding onto my hand. His calloused hand was trembling. I could only watch as his life was slowly taken from him. With a smile on his bloody lips, Dale closed his eyes. His head rolled to one side of his shoulders. Dale then lay motionless.

He was dead.

There were footsteps and then I could feel the barrel of a rifle being pointed at the back of my head. I slowly turned around to see Shane grinning down at me, a rifle in his arms. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that!" he chuckled. "Now, it's your turn!"


	30. There Can Be No Humanity

I merely looked up at Shane. I could feel my eyes watering with tears. There was nothing I could say at this point. I was speechless. I swallowed the rock forming in my throat. Shane merely laughed at me. "What's the matter, you gonna cry?" he asked. "Don't cry, today is your nineteenth birthday, remember? Carol was kind enough to remind us all of that. She even wanted to bake you a birthday cake to cheer you up. Isn't that sweet?"

It was silent for a few moments. I just looked up at Shane. "Why?" I breathed. I couldn't hold it back anymore. A couple of tears escaped my eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I then cried out. "Have you lost your mind?!"

There was no light in his dark eyes, Shane merely gazed upon me as if I was the most pathetic thing in the world. "Because I love Lori, I love Carl like he's my son," Shane simply stated. "And I love my baby."

My eyes widened with horror. "What? Your baby? What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"The answer is simple, dumbass." Shane hissed in a cold voice. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect myself and those I love, even if it means killing my own friends. That's the only way you'll survive in this world."

"No, it's not!"

"It is, Dale proved it just now."

"You're the one who murdered Dale, you fuckwit!" I shouted. "All he was asking was for a little humanity!"

Shane then flew into a rage. "There can be no humanity!" he screamed at me, spit flying from his mouth. His face was turning red with anger. I could see a vein bulging on the side of his bald head. My eyes were wide with fear. I lay helplessly against the tree trunk alongside Dale. "A better person is a dead person! If anything, I'm the better person for all that I've done! You and the others need to pull up your panties and do the job! Otherwise, I will!" Shane continued to rant.

This wasn't the Shane that I used to know.

I remember how friendly Shane was towards me and Sky when we first met, how impressed Shane was with Sky's prowess, and how thoughtful it was of Shane to carry me to my mother's grave when I was dying of the infection. All of that was gone now.

I shook my head. "No humanity? Then we might as well be dead."

"Yeah, you wanna know what is living?...dying! Oh wait, no, that's...that's fucking dying!" Shane said in a patronizing tone, as he raised the rifle towards me. I closed my eyes as I embraced my death. I should've died when I first became infected. Maybe it would've been better that way.

There was a loud gunshot.

Was I dead? I didn't feel anything.

No, I wasn't. I could still feel the dirt and leaves underneath me, smell the cold air, and feel the adrenaline pumping through my heart. Shane cried out once, crumbling to his knees. He got shot in the back by Sky, who ran up to Shane and proceeded to kick him in the stomach. Sky ripped the rifle away from Shane, who was in too much agony to be able to do anything. She pointed it at Shane, who had no choice but to surrender. "I'd kill you right now, but then I'd be no better than shit like you." Sky then said, her childish voice a stern tone.

Shane snickered at that. I slowly rose to my feet. "Sky, what are you doing? Kill him!" I then shouted. "Blow this fucker's brains out!"

"No," Sky answered, monotone. "I've already killed too many people. I don't want to be like Shane."

"Honey, you aren't like Shane! That was different! Kill him! Kill him!"

"No."

That was when I noticed Shane reach into his back pocket for his gun. I quickly got up and tackled Shane. The gun was tossed to the side as I slammed Shane into a pile of leaves. Shane then rolled on top of me and I felt his strong hands around my throat. He was squeezing the life out of me. I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head. I began choking as I tried to heave Shane off of me.

There was a gunshot and Shane cried out in agony. Sky shot him in the arm. I quickly shoved Shane off of me and got to my feet. Me and Sky stared down at Shane with disgust. "You're dead now, Shane. Wait till the others find out what you've done here." I said.

Shane clutched his bleeding arm, before laughing once. "Yeah, and what did Rick do when he found out I killed Otis and shot Sky? He let me stay. You really think he's gonna listen to you now?"

I didn't say anything. Instantly, Shane began fumbling around for his handgun. That was when me and Sky booked it. There was a loud bang and I felt a burning blaze of heat against my cheek, then sharp pain. The bullet just grazed my cheek.

We didn't stop running. I looked behind to see Shane stumble to his feet and try to go after us. Shane was too far behind. Suddenly, the ground was no longer under my feet. I turned just in time to see myself fall off a tiny cliff into a huge hole. Everything went black.

* * *

_Chica!_

_Despertar, chica!_

It was the cold breeze against my skin that woke me up. I slowly opened my eyes to darkness. The ground felt damp underneath me. I had slipped on that rock and fell onto the ground because of the sudden drop in the hill. I was now hidden underneath some huge rocks and dirt that extended forward, creating a cover.

I noticed a dark figure sitting beside me. "Dad?" I asked aloud. "Is that you?"

"What? No." the voice of a young girl answered.

"Sky?"

"Yes."

I exhaled with relief, laying my head back on the murky ground. We were still in the forest, which was now dark. "What are we still doing here? Why didn't you leave to warn the others?" I questioned.

Sky hesitated. "I was scared. I was afraid Shane would find us. And, there's a lot of walkers out here, including Dale."

"Dale is a walker?"

"Yeah, he's around here somewhere."

My heart sank heavily. Dale didn't deserve to die. Shane was going to pay for this. No more nonsense. I grabbed the handgun from Sky. We crawled out from under the overextended dirt and rocks into open darkness. The crickets were chirping and I could hear shuffling around us. I noticed some figures off in the distance. They must have been walkers. "You picked a hell of a time to talk, Sky." I sighed.

"Saved your life didn't I?" she gibed. While Sky's voice sounded like the childish little girl that she was, her voice was tough and mature. It made her sound older than Sky actually was.

"Yeah, you did." I sighed, looking at how many bullets were left in my handgun. "Normally, I'd be happy that you've started talking but given our situation..." I finished it there. Sky already knew what I meant. No words could describe how shit our problem was. I could feel my eyes adjusting to the darkness. I could see the little girl better. I saw enough to see Sky frown.

"What are we going to do now?" Sky asked.

"I'm going to kill Shane the moment I see him." I answered, stalking into the dark forest. Sky followed closely beside me. "What about the others?" Sky inquired.

"What about them?"

"Uh, they're going to get pissed at you for killing Shane. They don't know the truth."

"They will soon enough."

"And if they don't believe us?"

"Even if they don't believe us, we know the truth. That's good enough. I'm doing this to protect them. I don't care if they hate me forever. I'm not going to let Shane kill them." I replied.

Sky didn't say anything after that. I wandered through the forest trying to find my way. But, I felt that I was lost. After about ten minutes of walking, I came to a stop. "We're lost," I breathed, exhaling a cloud of visible air. It was very cold out. I could feel the air stabbing into my skin like icy needles. "We're not lost, if we keep heading the way we came, which was straight, we'll reach home." Sky explained.

Home.

The Greene Farm was our home now. How much longer though?

We walked in a straight line through the dark and cold forest. The twigs and branches snapping underneath our feet. I could hear noises all around us. It was the night time wild life out to play. But, I couldn't tell if they were raccoons, possums, or what not, or they were walkers. Honestly, I was scared of everything around me at the moment. I just wanted the hell outta here.

A gun shot suddenly ran gout from the woods. My heart skipped a beat. It felt like I had a heart attack. Me and Sky turned in the direction of the shot. "The fuck was that?" Sky whispered.

"I don't know, but it isn't good." I said back. "They wouldn't waste a bullet like that."

Unless you were Shane.

I prayed to whatever deity was out there that it wasn't true. I was relieved once I saw the lights of the Greene house. We had only the sliver of moonlight to guide us. Now, we were home. The both of us quickly ran over to the porch into the house. We entered the living room where everyone was. Lori, Carol, Daryl, Carl, Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea, Hershel, Maggie, Beth, Jimmy, Patricia...

And Shane.

"There you are, you murderous cunt!" Shane shouted, instantly drawing his handgun and aiming for me. But, Daryl grabbed Shane's muscled arm with his own before he could shoot. Suddenly, there was yelling in the house as T-Dog, Daryl, and Jimmy restrained Shane from attacking me. Daryl wrestled the gun out of Shane's hand. Shane was shoved back behind the small crowd of people. Shane looked at all of them with disgust. "You're seriously going to let these murderers in our house! I saw Anza and Sky bring Randall into the woods! Where she killed him and killed Dale for only trying to help!" Shane screamed, such hatred in his voice. "You heard the gunshot! That was Anza shooting Rick just now! She's gone psycho!"

I snickered once with amusement. Did he really expect people to buy this stupid story? Daryl and Lori sure as hell didn't. Even the others weren't really buying it. They all looked to each other in confusion and disbelief. I had never seen Shane so afraid right now. Lori turned her head of black hair to me. "Anza, what the hell is going on?" she asked. "Where were you and Sky all afternoon?"

Andrea then stepped forward, she was glaring at me accusingly. "Yeah, and where's Dale? Where's Randall? Where's Rick?" she interrogated.

Was Andrea really dumb enough to believe Shane? Probably. Andrea was turning into the female version of Shane.

"They're dead! Because this dumb bitch killed him-" Shane began.

Enough.

With a cold look on my face, I swiftly pulled out my revolver and shot Shane point blank in the chest. He instantly fell backwards into the ground. Beth shrieked loudly at the gunshot, instantly hiding behind Hershel. Andrea looked from Shane and back to me in horror and disgust. T-Dog, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, Jimmy, and Patricia all had their wide eyes at me. They all stepped back. Lori and Daryl didn't seemed to be as moved by this as they did, although they were still shocked that I shot Shane. Andrea tried pulling out her gun, but I pointed mine at her chest. I held my hand out to her. "Give me your gun." I ordered.

Andrea gritted her teeth, handing it to me. I then opened the revolver, to show her that the cartridge was actually empty. She was even more enraged. "Get back with the others." I hissed. She reluctantly stepped beside Carol and T-Dog. All eyes were on me.

I looked upon the dying Shane, who was grunting in pain, clutching his bleeding chest. I aimed the gun at Shane. "This is for Otis," I plainly said.

I then shot him in the shoulder. Shane let out a loud yell.

"This is for Sky,"

I shot him in the left leg, right where Shane had shot Sky. He screamed again. "You fuggin' bitch!" Shane cried out.

"This is for Dale,"

I shot him in the other leg.

"This is for Rick,"

I shot him in the arm. Shane continued to cry out in pain. His enraged dark eyes met mine. Even through all the pain, Shane could still glare at me with pure hatred. I raised the gun to him. "And this...this is for you." I said.

I pulled the trigger, the bullet exploding from the gun. I shot Shane right in the neck. Shane began choking on his own blood, which was now pouring from his neck. Although Shane no longer could scream, I could tell that he was in absolute agony. A bullet in his neck. Bullets scattered across his body. I wanted his last moments to be painful. And they were.

His head fell backwards against the floor, where he lay motionless. Shane's now blank dark eyes staring up at the ceiling. No hatred in his face any longer. We all watched as a pool of blood formed across the nice wooden floor.

Shane was dead.


	31. Mere Anarchy

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Andrea screamed at me. "You really are a murderous cunt! Shane was right about you!"

That was when Sky stepped forward. "You're wrong, Andrea."

They all turned to Sky, shocked that she had finally spoken. I had waited for this day for so long. "Sky, what happened, girl?" Daryl asked, in his hillbilly voice.

"Shane lied to you about everything. He lied to you about what really happened that night Otis died. Otis didn't just die, he was murdered. We were trying to escape the crowd of zombies, but were too tired to outrun them. So, Shane shot Otis and shot me in the leg. He took our guns and left us to get eaten by the zombies while he escaped with the supplies." Sky explained all at once. Patricia covered her mouth in horror. Tears formed in her eyes. Hershel placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, sorrow on his face.

"I told Rick what happened, but he didn't believe me. And Rick forced me to stay at camp with someone who tried to murder me." Sky continued. I could hear her resentment of Rick in her voice. The tears forming in her blue eyes. "Do you know how hard that is to deal with?" Her voice was trembling.

Andrea glowered at the both of us. "What a load of bullshit! Shane only did what was best for our group! I know his tactics were blunt and he didn't have your goofy Hallmark standards. But, Shane would never kill one of the members of the group!" she hissed at us. "He saved our lives on numerous occasions!"

Daryl defensively took a step in front of me. "Hard to imagine your fuck buddy being a murderer, isn't it?" he asked.

Andrea hissed at him. "Says the one boning a sixteen year old!"

"What the fuck you say!" yelled Daryl.

"I'm nineteen years old!" I shouted.

_"Whatever!"_

"Me and Daryl aren't even together!"

"Yeah, _sure!_" snorted Andrea.

"Besides, that is_ hardly_ the issue here!" I snapped.

"Enough!" Lori yelled, separating the both of us. I could see the hatred that Shane once had now in Andrea's blue eyes. Shane was dead, but his hatred lived on. A hatred that tore this group apart. "What happened in the forest? Where is Dale and Randall?" Lori then asked, her voice now gentle.

I felt my throat tighten. "The three of us saw Shane enter into the forest with Randall. By the time we caught up with him, Randall was already dead. Shane then killed Dale." I mumbled.

Everyone was suddenly tense. I heard exhales of disappointment. Looks of sorrow upon their faces. Carol wiped away a few stray tears. Andrea was shocked at the death of someone she considered to be her grandfather. That was when I noticed her anger subside. Andrea and Dale had a difficult relationship, but they were still good friends.

T-Dog rubbed the back of his neck. "So, what do we do now? Anza just killed Shane. But, I think she was right to. Shane was losing his marbles. Question is, do we let her back in the group?"

"Are you crazy?" Andrea objected. "She just murdered a member of our group."

"Andrea, how hard is it to believe that Shane was a murderous psychopath?" Maggie then interjected, the cowgirl just as frustrated as I was. "A bullet from Shane's gun was lodged in Sky's leg, for Pete's sake! That isn't even all he's done! What more proof do you need?"

Andrea scowled at Maggie. Before they could argue further, Hershel stepped forward. Everyone moved aside as the the patriarch walked swiftly past Shane's dead body and in front of the room. "I've had my suspicions about Shane ever since I met him. Now, I know for a fact that they are true. Shane was a danger to everyone in this group." Hershel then turned to me. "You did the right thing, Anza."

I slowly nodded once. "Did Rick leave with Shane?"

Lori covered her mouth with her hand, tears instantly forming. "Yes, then we heard a gunshot," Lori began to sob. "And Shane came back and said you shot him."

Lori was holding back sobs, instantly thinking the worst for her husband. We all did. The front door was suddenly flung open. Carl came rushing in, wheezing loudly from running. "Carl, what the hell are you doing outside?" Lori nearly yelled at her son.

"Shane shot Dad!" Carl exclaimed.

"Yeah? Well, I shot Shane." I answered, pointing at the dead Shane on the ground.

Shane's hand twitched once. I thought it was just my imagination until Shane began to stir. We all nearly jumped to the ceiling at that. We all stepped back and tensed. Guns were pointed at him. "What the fuck? Did Shane seriously survive getting shot that much?" T-Dog asked.

Shane grumbled once, before starting to sit up. He opened his blaring yellow eyes. Shit. I forgot. I didn't shoot Shane in the head. I wanted his death to be painful. Not swift and quick as he would've liked. Now, Shane came back as a walker. Shane began to growl as he made his way to his feet. I immediately shot Shane point blank in the face. The gunshot rang loudly throughout the house. Shane once against collapsed dead in a pool of his own blood. "Did Shane get bitten?" Maggie asked. "I don't see any bite marks."

"No time for that! Dad's been shot!" Carl yelped. "We need to get him now!"

"Okay, show us where!" I hollered, instantly digging through the duffel bag of guns.

"You're not going anywhere!" Lori shouted.

"I'll help ya find him!" Daryl added, ignoring Lori. We both grabbed shotguns. I placed Andrea's gun in the bag. Andrea no longer looked at me with hatred. She was just stunned that Shane was actually a murderer. Glenn was standing at the living room window. He peered out the wide window. Glenn slowly lowered his binoculars. A look of pure horror on his face. "We have another problem," he stated, handing the binoculars to his girlfriend. After seeing something, Maggie also lowered it.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"There's a huge horde of walkers headed this way. They're exiting from the forest. Hundreds of them." Maggie said quietly.

Fear and desperation was on Carl's face. He was horrified that his dying father was out there alone. "Dad is out there! I won't leave him!" Carl screamed. He tried running out of the house, but Lori grabbed and restrained him. "You are not going out there!" Lori yelled back.

"Fuck! Okay, which direction is your Dad and how far?" I then asked. "I'll find him!"

"Are you crazy?" Daryl exclaimed skeptically. "Rick is gone! This is a suicide mission for a dead man!"

I ignored Daryl. Carl stepped in front of the window and pointed to the left of the darkness outside. I could already see the figures that were the walkers closing in on us. "We were at a clearing when Shane shot Dad. He's out there somewhere!"

"I'll bring back your Daddy, I promise!" With that, I ran out of the house. Sky followed closely behind me as did the objections of my group. I darted to the left of the acres of darkness, avoiding drawing attention to myself with the walkers. I didn't like that Sky was running after me but what could I do?

"Get the fuck back here, prom queen!" Daryl yelled at me. I could hear his footsteps not far behind me. I reached the woods and continued running. I remembered where that clearing was. It was only a few minutes away. I could already hear gunshots on the farm. I could also hear cars honking, probably trying to distract the walkers. "You said you'd help me!" I managed to shout back at Daryl, breathing hard.

A sharp pain shot through my chest. I immediately skidded to a stop. I winced once, clutching my now bleeding wound above my heart. Daryl caught up with me. "Anza, you're hurt. We need to get back!"

"We're almost there! Please, we need to find Rick!" I begged.

"Your chest wound is hurtin' again, ain't it?"

"I'm fine, let's go!"

With that, I ignored the needle stabbing pain in my heart and kept running. I knew my recovery time was going to be extended even more after this. I was supposed to relax and take it easy after getting surgery from a fucking stab wound to the heart. Something I never expected to live from. Then again, I never expected to live in a walker apocalypse. I could do this.

I panted heavily as we suddenly exited into the clearing just as Carl had said. "Rick! Rick, are you there!" I hollered loudly. We all began calling out for Rick. I couldn't see Rick at all. It was too dark and the grass was taller than usual. I then saw an arm raised upright in the grass. Rick.

We all bolted for the arm. We found Rick laying on the ground, one arm clutching his profusely bleeding chest. "I got ya, bud." Daryl stated, wrapping one of Rick's arms around his shoulder for support. Rick winced in agony. "Shane...sumbitch shot me...right in the motherfuckin' chest...where I got shot before..." he grumbled. "Why am I not dead?...this wound is fatal."

"You'd be surprised what we can live through, Rick." I stated, grabbing his other arm and draping it over my shoulder. Me and Daryl began to help the wounded Rick get across the field. We were practically dragging him. "When I find Shane...I'm gonna kill that fucker..." Rick groaned.

"Prom queen already beat ya to it. Blew the fucker to bits."

"Good." sighed Rick. "Sky, Anza, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't worry about it now!" Sky exclaimed. "Walkers are invading the farm!"

Weakness was upon Rick. He looked like he was sleepy but I knew it was from the pain and blood loss from the gunshot wound. While we made our way through the forest, that was when we began seeing walkers. "Sky..." I said warily.

Sky grabbed the shotgun from my free arm and began blasting the walkers apart. She began to make a path from the stray walkers in the forest. But, we had to move more quickly to avoid any more of them. We then reached the farm. The barn was on fire, blazing up with light. There were cars zooming across the vast land, now covered with zombies, and I could see gunshots being fired from the cars. A couple of zombies out of the hundreds here fell. We could not protect this land.

"Dad!" Carl cried out, running for us. Lori and Hershel were close behind in quick pursuit. "Oh my God!" Lori exclaimed, holding her husband's face in her soft hands. "Take him to the camper, I'll perform surgery in there once Pat gathers all my materials." Hershel stated in an authoritative voice. We all complied with his orders, dragging Rick into the camper before laying him on the couch. He looked so pale white. Lori and Carl were at his side. "Guys, we need you now!" Jimmy shouted at us, firing at some of the walkers.

The walkers tore down the fence that had once protected us from them. They hungrily stumbled towards us. Walker was barking like crazy. He then began whimpering once he saw the hundreds of walkers closing in on us. Beth tried dragging the dog into the camper. The leash on Walker snapped and the dog instantly bolted for the forest. He was too overwhelmed by the amount of walkers. That's when I knew we couldn't win. "Walker, come back!" Beth shouted.

"There's no time!" I hollered at Beth.

I stood alongside Jimmy, Daryl, and Sky, shooting at the walkers coming towards us. It was futile though. For every walker we shot, a dozen more would appear. The walkers were suddenly feet near us. A walker snarled loudly, mindlessly running to me. I shot it in the head. The walker collapsed to the ground, only to be replaced with five more. Daryl tossed me a machete. I quickly swung around, slicing the head of a walker in half. I heard a loud shriek. It was Carol. She was being ganged up on by a group of walkers. "Carol!" Sky hollered out to her, running towards the woman.

"Sky, wait!" I hollered, stabbing a walker in the head. I quickly ran after Sky through the crowd of walkers. Ducking and dodging as best as I could. Their dirty fingernails scratched upon my skin. I could feel the blood pouring down my shirt. How much more could my heart wound take? I split open the head of a walker that was on top of Carol. I quickly lifted Carol to her feet, who looked more than grateful. We were interrupted by more walkers. "Run!" I yelled. "We'll hold them off!"

Carol reluctantly began to step away before turning around and fleeing past the group of walkers. She managed to make it into the camper, where the walkers were now pounding against. Me and Sky were blocked by the group of zombies. "This way!" Sky said, grabbing my hand. Sky ran and led me into the woods. I didn't want to leave our friends behind on the farm.

But, we had no choice.

* * *

After running for about five minutes, I absolutely could not go any further. Blood was pouring profusely from my chest. It felt like Daryl had lodged a knife into my heart again. I collapsed to my feet. Sky instantly noted my absence and ran back for me. She tried lifting me to my feet. "C'mon! You can't do this now!"

"My chest! It hurts! I can't!"

"We're gonna die!"

"Leave me! I-I can't! My chest hurts so bad!" I began to cry. I was in utter agony. "Okay then, we'll hide in a tree but you need to get up!" Sky screamed at me as a walker drew near. Those were the words I needed to hear. I suddenly got up and smashed the walkers in the head with the machete. "Then, let's go!" I coughed, placing my hand over the bleeding wound on my heart. I stumbled through the dark woods with the walkers quickly in tow. Sky was looking around all the trees, trying to find out that we could climb. "This one!" Sky exclaimed. "Climb before they see us!"

Through all the stabbing pain in my chest while holding onto a shotgun and machete, I climbed that tree like there was no tomorrow. I didn't stop climbing. I wouldn't. No matter how badly my chest hurt. No matter how hard it was to breath. I felt like a knife had been stuck into my lungs. I was wheezing terribly. I finally reached a safe ground on the tree. I laid uncomfortably on one strong branch while Sky sat a branch above me. I heard the groans and snarling noises from below. I prayed to a God that didn't exist that the walkers wouldn't see us.

And they didn't.

They walked right past the tree.

I sighed with relief. It was just like it was before. Those two nights I had spent in the tree. Only, I had to sit in this tree absolutely tired but too stressed to sleep. I was tired and awake at the same time. I sat in that tree for hours. I could tell by the darkness that was being uplifted. It had to be morning now. The sun was just above the horizon._ "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."_ said a voice that sounded like Dale's. I looked all around me for Dale. I could not find the old man anywhere. _"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned." the voice of Dale continued to say. _

I was searching all around me for where Dale's voice was coming from. "Dale, where are you?" I asked in a low voice.

"Shh!" Sky snapped at me.

_"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."_ Dale continued to say.

"This is not the time to be reading storybooks or spouting philosophical nonsense, now where are you?" I asked. Sky was looking down at me like I had gone crazy. "Would you shut up? Are you trying to alert every walker to our presence?" she hissed at me.

I ignored Sky. I didn't know what the hell was going on. I watched Dale die. So, how the fuck was he talking to me? I wanted to know. I heard his voice again. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. I couldn't tell which direction Dale was talking from. _"I really hate that book growing up, especially now. The book was right. You were right. I was wrong."_ Dale sighed. _"I thought I could live like we used to. Now, I know we can't. Shane was right."_

"That's not true, Dale." I said aloud. "That way of living is wrong."

Sky shushed me again. I continued to ignore her.

_"Better than dying, isn't it?"_

"No, it's a fate worse than death."

"Anza, shut up!" Sky spat at me.

"I will kill, but keep my humanity at the same time." I then whispered, not trying to alert the walkers below. "I'll show you, Dale."

I waited for Dale to answer but got none. I then exhaled a wave of stress from me. I could feel my heart beating underneath my hand. The blood was still pumping from the wound. The sun was up. A new day, a new nightmare.


	32. El Corazon

It was hard for Sky to watch me suffer for what seemed like years, when it was only two weeks or so. I over exerted myself physically and mentally back at the Greene farm. That caused me to start bleeding from the incision above my heart. Sky checked my wound, luckily, none of the stitches had snapped. Although the stitches were very lose and on the verge of snapping again. I didn't know if I tore anything open in my heart. I didn't know if I was internally bleeding or nothing. It seemed like the bleeding had stopped. But, even as I was resting, I still didn't feel better. This was the first time I had actually been able to rest. Granted, I was forced to rest.

There was no way I could ever rest in a fucking walker apocalypse.

We would always be on the run.

Sky managed to find us a small house in the outskirts of the forest. The brick red paint was faded and of course was abandoned. Normally, I would've been bored as fuck laying on this smelly old mattress for two weeks straight. But, I was unusually tired all the time, probably from blood loss. I was alive though. That was all that mattered.

The window slid open and Sky quickly climbed into the window, before falling onto the ground. I raised my head from my pillow. "What's the rush?" I mumbled.

Sky had a big smile on her face. It was the first time in two weeks since I had seen her this happy.

"Anza, I killed a deer!" Sky exclaimed.

I tried to laugh only to end up coughing in pain. Agony was all I could feel in my chest. I then laid back on the bed helplessly. "Proud of ya," I grumbled. "You catch anything else?"

Sky shook her messy head of black hair. "Not yet, I'm gonna check the traps. I'm gonna need your help to get the deer though...that's...if you can...I don't want your heart wound to open up again."

I thought about what to do for a few moments. I was in no condition to be lifting heavy weights. I was more afraid of tearing the stitches and bleeding to death than I was of walkers at the moment. I never thought that to be possible. I couldn't lift the deer. What else could I do?

"I'm gonna have to skin the deer and cut out as much meat as we can," I stated. "But, you're gonna have to learn how to make those sometime, ya know."

"It's so fucking hard to do though!"

Through the pain, I managed to chuckle. I sat up against my pillow. "You wouldn't believe how helpless I was when..." I lost the smile. Daryl. I missed him. "...Daryl taught me how to make twitch up snares."

Sky frowned once, knowing that I was sad to never see him again. Or the rest of our group for that matter. It was right after what happened with Shane that Sky started talking again. So, at least I wasn't lonely like those first three months I spent with Sky. "You miss Daryl don't you?" Sky asked, in her kid voice.

I didn't say anything. I threw off the covers to the mattress and picked up the handgun I had laying beside me. Sky still had Dale's rifle. We only had a few bullets left though. "Let's go get our deer." was all I said. I didn't want to be reminded of something I loved that was now gone. That only made living more painful.

Sky led me through the mossy forest towards the kill she had gotten. There it was. A huge buck laying dead on the grass. Sky handed me my Dad's hunting knife. I was about to stab the buck when I noticed something. _"El corazon."_ I said in Spanish.

"What?" Sky asked, confused.

"The heart," I answered. "You shot it right through the heart."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I did."

I looked down at the knife wound above my heart and sighed. I was going to survive this. I had to.

A stick snapped from behind us. Me and Sky sprung into our offensive stance, our guns drawn and my knife at the ready.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" I commanded.

A middle-aged man and a boy in his late teens stepped out from behind a tree, their hands in the air. "Hey there," the man said. The man was well groomed for somebody living in the apocalypse. Had nice clothing, nicely combed brown hair with some graying streaks, and a gentle smile on his face. The boy beside him was of Hispanic decent and looked extremely nervous.

"Don't come any closer." I warned. "Or we shoot."

"We don't mean you any harm. We were hunting down bandits in this forest and came across this buck. Didn't know it was yours." the man said in his deep voice that commanded authority. "But, I'm willing to trade you for it. We could use the meat."

"And what do you have to offer?" I inquired. Our guns still pointed at him. The man shrugged once, his hands still in the air. "Guns, ammo, medicine..." he listed.

"Give us some guns and ammo along with a couple vials of medicine or so, and this buck is all yours."

"Sounds good. But, some of our medicine and ammo is back at our town, if you would join us-"

"-I'm not going anywhere with you. Tell Alejo here to go get them then," I ordered, pointing my handgun at the younger one. "And if you come back with anyone, I'll kill you."

The boy hesitated for a few moments, before looking up at the man. "Sir?" he asked.

The man nodded. "Bring them a first aid kit and a couple bottles of penicillin. Bring no one with you. Go, now."

With the clearance, the boy then ran off. I was just hoping and praying that he didn't bring back any people with him. We were fucked if they did. Sky then spoke. Her voice edged with just as much authority as this man's. "I'll have the rifle." Sky then said.

The man did as he was told. He grabbed the rifle that was strapped to his back, before Sky lowered hers and snatched it in a swift motion. Next thing I knew, Sky was on the ground taking the ammo from the rifle. "Your gun might not be able to take my ammo if it's a different one-" the man began to say.

"These rifles are both Winchester models." Sky plainly told him. "It'll take the ammo."

The man snickered. "Smart kid,"

Sky then looked up at me. "Dale told me."

I fringed my lips thinking about Dale again. That poor old man...and fucking Shane. I'm just glad that bastard Shane was dead now. I interrupted my train of thought to focus on my current situation. It was awkward standing there for a few minutes with my gun pointed at this man. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of here. Sky then stood up after taking the ammo from the rifle. She put the ammo in the pocket of her dirty purple jacket. A couple of bullets fell to the dirt ground. I bent over to pick them up. The moment I did, there was gunfire just above my head. "Get down!" the man shouted, tackling me to the ground.

The three of us crawled into the tall grass filled with ferns. _"We're gonna get you fucks!"_ a voice shouted from the woods. There was more gunfire all around us.

"Bandits." I breathed.

I could feel my heart pounding. That scared the shit out of me. Though I wouldn't have known that because I would've been dead. This stranger saved my life. "How many of these guys are there?!" Sky complained. "I thought we killed 'em all!"

"These fuckers probably inbreed." I cursed.

We were lying on the ground avoiding being detected. Suddenly, there were noises from behind us. A bandit emerged from the trees with a shotgun aimed at our faces. The stranger rolled onto his back and pulled out a handgun from his jacket. The bandit was shot point blank in the face, collapsing dead to the ground. "You had another gun?!" I yelled. "And didn't give it to me?!"

"Less talking and more killing," the man merely answered. It sounded more like an order if anything. The three of us quickly crawled behind the tree trunks, which acted as shields. I was hiding behind one tree trunk while the stranger and Sky were hiding behind a huge trunk. "Kid, give me your rifle, quick!" the man exclaimed.

"I know how to shoot!" Sky shouted, briefly moving out of cover to shoot a bandit that was running towards us. That convinced the stranger. We exchanged rounds of gunfire between the bandits and it didn't seem like it was going to end. I pulled the trigger a few times. There were no more bullets. I cursed, throwing the gun and pulling out my knife. "I'm outta ammo too." Sky said to me.

The man sighed, dropping his. "Same."

"Shit, here they come!" I hissed.

I quickly pulled out my hunting knife and ran down the slanted hill through the tall grass. They would never see me. I slashed a bandit across the throat before stabbing the other one in the shoulder, who let out a wail of pain. Another fired his machine gun off at me, only I grabbed the bandit I had just stabbed and hid behind him. I heard the sickening sound of dozens of bullets piercing this man's flesh. I grabbed the shotgun from the now dead bandit I was using as a shield and blasted his friend in the stomach. Sky and this stranger picked up their guns. There was no more gunfire. "Do you think that's all of them?" I asked.

The stranger cocked his head towards his right. He raised his gun towards the woods. "No, we've got more company." he answered. _"Undead_ company."

I started to hear yelling and snarling as a small herd of walkers ran our way. I sighed, looking at how much ammo was left in this shotgun. When the screaming walkers drew close enough, the three of us unleashed a barrage of bullets that quickly took most of them down. A walker managed to overpower our stranger and shove his against a tree. The walker's jaws snapping just inches away from his neck. Sky shot the walker in the head then got back to what she was doing. When I ran out of bullets, I dropped the shotgun and began taking down the remaining walkers with my hunting knife. Slashing and shooting our way through the walkers, we eventually killed them all. I stood standing around their bodies. I was covered in the blood of the living and the dead. My body ached badly, especially my heart. I could feel the prickly stabbing feeling returning to my chest. I hope I didn't overexert myself again.

But, I saw the blood on my hands and knew I did.

* * *

"I can't believe we just fucking did that." Sky laughed with excitement.

The three of us got back to where we kept the deer and started up a campfire. It was starting to get dark and cold. It had only been about an hour, but it went from sunny to literally pitch black at nine o'clock every evening. The stranger threw a couple of more branches onto the fire, which began snapping and crackling wildly. He sat down across from me, patting Sky on the back and smiling at her with appreciation. "You did good, kid." he said, before turning to me. "The both of you did."

"Nah, _the three of us did."_ I grinned.

The man chuckled once with delight. "Why thank you, I'm amazed how well you two fought. You fight better than most of my men do."

"Can't be very good fighters then."

"They're decent fighters as are you. The only problem is they lack the natural battle prowess and utter blood lust that you two have."

Now, I was angered. I didn't like what he said at all. "Hey, I'm not some psycho killer, okay?" I snapped. "I don't thirst for blood and I'm not Lara Croft or anything. I'm just a girl surviving a zombie apocalypse."

"And I'm just a man surviving a zombie apocalypse." The man explained. "You've come this far with mere force of will. That's the only thing that's kept me alive and allowed me to come so far."

The man started to go off on a little rant. It wasn't like we had anything else better to do, so I just sat and listened to him ramble about his pretentious bullshit.

"First there were just nine of us all camped up in apartment when the world fell apart, we left and soon picked up new companions along the way. We grew, grew, and grew until there was a hundred of us. Now, I'm the leader of a town that is safe and secure from the outside world. Hope is what our town needs."

_"Town?_ You have a town in the middle of a fucking apocalypse?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "How is that even possible?"

"Yes, we took over the abandoned town of Woodbury, now it's our safe haven. We have food, heat, even have running water and electricity. We are a community and were are at least able to live a semi-normal life in this apocalypse. You two are welcome to stay if you like."

It definitely seemed worth checking out. Of course, there were always doubts. You couldn't trust anyone in this world. This man seemed friendly towards us and we spilled blood together on the battlefield. But, I still didn't know him nonetheless. What if this man turned on us? What if it was just a lie and he killed us? Still, at the same time, he could be telling the truth. I could be a part of a group again. I needed a leader with good morals. Rick Grimes failed at that.

"What's your name? I'm Anza and this is Sky," I introduced ourselves. Sky shot me a look, unsure of whether or not I should have told him. No harm in giving someone my name. It didn't give them any power or shoot lasers from their balls. It's not like her real name was Sky anyway. I still didn't know her name or cared to ask anymore.

The man poked at the now roaring fire with a stick. I noticed the flames gleaming in his eyes. It seemed to contrast with the kindness on his face. "I'm called the Governor." he smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anza and Sky."


	33. Reunión

**8 months later...**

I swung my double-edged spear, slicing two walkers heads in half. The other five or six walkers huddled closer towards me. I kept my space between them for I knew I would be overwhelmed and eaten if they got a hold of me. "Blarghhhh!" one walker gurgled at me, before I stabbed it in the eye with the blade's end. I swiftly took down the remaining walkers. They collapsed dead at my feet. That was the rest of them. I had to go find the opening though. Ever since I escaped from Woodbury, I secured the abandoned mall which had once been filled with hundreds of walkers. The church bells from across the street had been useful in drawing most of them out.

Now, the mall was my new home.

How long though, was the real question.

_"Comprobar la entrada norte, querido."_ came the calm voice of my father. The terror was instantly replaced with joy. I could hear my father's voice. I immediately stood up after tying my shoes. I looked around the food court, searching for my father. _"Le quebraron las tablas en la entrada norte?"_ I asked in my quick tongued accent. My voice echoed throughout the large empty food court.

"Who are you talking to?" Sky asked from behind me.

"Uh, just to myself," I stuttered, retracting the blades back into the steel shaft. "I think we should check the north entrance, the boards might've broken again."

The walkie talkie on my belt started beeping. I quickly picked up. "Yeah, Carmen?" I asked into the microphone. The static was very loud.

"Did you find where the walkers are coming from?" Carmen questioned.

"North entrance I believe."

"I want the two of you to walk around the perimeter and find out where it is. Board it up once you find it."

"Will do, hermana."

I placed the talkie back on my belt. "You check this side of the mall, I check the other. Call me if you find it."

Sky nodded once. With that, I quickly ran all the way to the opposite end of the mall. If those boards broke, we'd all be in danger. I was just hoping and praying that it wasn't the men from Woodbury. I hoped that the Governor had given up on us. I couldn't believe how wrong I was about that place. The only good thing that ever came out of that hell hole was finding my sister, brother-in-law, and my nephew. They were all alive. My father...I never found him.

I ran to each main store that had a major entrance, all the ones that were boarded up or we boarded up. Sears and Penny's were still up. Once I reached Nordstorm, there were a few stray walkers roaming the abandoned and messed up store. I pulled out my hunting knife and quickly dispatched of them. There was no need to use the spear, as fun as it was. I couldn't live to kill or I would want to do it more often.

I approached the boarded up main entrance to see that some of the wood had fallen apart. The pillar of sunlight poured through the open boards. It almost blinded me. I was so used to the darkness at this point. I looked outside to see the possibly hundred of walkers still outside. They were stumbling around each other as usual. It seemed like only a couple noticed the broken boards. Having to nail in new boards was going to draw in more attention from the hundreds.

I quickly headed back towards the Penny's and into the shoe section, which like the rest of the mall, was a complete disaster. I opened the door that lead to the backroom, where other shoes were kept. It was safe and isolated from the rest of the mall if anyone else entered. The now empty shoe shelves were filled with supplies and mementos of our past. I noticed that there were rows of candles on one shelf. A framed picture of Mom and Dad in the middle.

"Did you find it?" snapped Carmen.

I nearly jolted out of my shoes. She startled me. The image of my much older sister entered the dim light. Carmen and I looked a lot alike. Both being of Hispanic descent, but she took more after my father; having his wider shaped face and darkest brown eyes. "Yes," I breathed. "I'm gonna have to go out to get more wood though."

"You mean you didn't go to the mill to get more wood?"

"No," I admitted. "I'll have to stop by Woodbury for more nails."

Carmen sighed at me once. There was a tug at her sleeve. It was little Alex. Alexander José Sanchez. Named after his grandmother and grandfather. _"Historia!"_ Alex cried out. _"Historia!"_

Alex threw a book at Carmen. She knelt beside her son and scolded him. "Bueno, no tiramos los libros a la gente!"

"Complacer historia?"

"Más tarde, la mamá está ocupada."

I could only smile as I watched mother and son interact. I noticed Adam watching from afar too, who was sitting on the nice mattress we got from the Sleep Country store here. I couldn't help but glower at him though. There was a beeping of my walkie talkie.

It was Sky.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"The others are here! Get down here quick!" Sky exclaimed through the static.

"What?"

"Daryl, Lori, and Carl are here with me! The others are here!"

_"Where?!"_ I then shouted into the talkie. My heart now racing. _They were alive, they were alive, they were alive,_ I repeated to myself. Carmen narrowed her eyes as Adam got up to see what was going on. We all huddled around the talkie. "We're out in the forest, they're staying at the prison. Meet us there! There's too many-"

The walkie was cut off by more static. "Sky? Sky, where are you? Just get back here with them!" I hollered into the walkie. There was no response.

"Were these the others that you were with?" Adam inquired in his deep and powerful voice, which matched his physique.

"Yes, and they're alive!" I nearly exclaimed, overjoyed. I quickly picked up my shotgun and handgun before leaving the back of the shoe store.

Carmen grabbed my arm. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute!"

"What?"

"Where do you think you're going?" Carmen demanded.

"To find my friends, of course." I scoffed. "Where else?"

"You can't just leave!"

"Why not? Sky gets to leave and you don't have a problem with it." I argued. "Besides, these are my friends. I'm not going to leave them out there to die."

"Even though they left you out there to die?"

"It was much more complicated than that, Carmen."

"It's really not, Anza," Carmen retorted, crossing her arms. Now she was in full bitch mode. "Especially in this world. Remember what happened with Shane?"

My face cringed. Now, I regretted telling her that. Adam placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Carmen," he begged her. She shook off his hand. Carmen never relented staring into my eyes. Now, I was annoyed. "What seems to be the problem now, Carmen?" I snapped.

"I don't want you going out there, that's the problem."

"Well, too bad, I want to see my friends."

I placed the strap of my shotgun around my shoulder. As I was leaving, I picked up a couple of buckets of walker guts sitting in the other room. By this point, I was so used to the stench.

The stench of death.

* * *

I made towards the prison, right through the hundreds of walkers patrolling outside the mall. My raincoat was covered with walker blood and guts. Because of that, I could walk calmly through them. The walkers seemed to have enough sentience to not recognize my face. But, once they sniffed the walker muck all over me, they moved along. I could barely contain my excitement at reuniting with the group. Once I reached the forest, I sprinted. After about twenty minutes of nonstop running, I reached the prison. The place wasn't covered in as many walkers as there used to be. The others must have cleared them out. Barbed-wired fences, guard towers, and concrete walls to protect the place. There was also a vast amount of green grass in the front.

It was the perfect stronghold.

I quickly made my way down the hill towards the fence. There was someone standing at the checkpoint station. It was Rick. He was still alive! I sighed with relief. I didn't know if he had lived after Shane shot him. He looked relatively calm once he saw me, not at all surprised that I had lived. It was as if Rick were waiting for me. I, however, was in shock and awe that my friend was still alive.

Rick now had a beard, his hair was a little longer but covered in dirt and sweat, and I thought I could see his skull. Rick looked exhausted from living in this world. The only thing that really reminded me of Rick were his bright blue eyes. They never lost hope.

I quickly took off the bloodied walker gear, tossing it to the side. Rick calmly slid open the fence gate. The both of us stepped forward, pulling each other in a hug. Rick definitely didn't smell the cleanest, but I didn't care. No one did in this world. Rick patted me on the back. "I'm so glad you're alive! I didn't know if you made it!" I nearly exclaimed. "I thought for sure you were a goner!"

We finally pulled away from each other. Rick had only a gentle smile on his face. "The scar tissue from my previous gunshot wound saved my life."

I smiled, nodding once. "Good thing you got shot then, eh?"

"But, I wouldn't have made it without you."

I looked up at him with slight surprise that he said that.

"You went into those woods even though hundreds of walkers were upon us and you searched for me. You saved me," Rick continued, before losing his smile. I could see his blue eyes dazing back to a terrible memory. "I failed you though, I failed all of you by letting Shane live."

I gave a slight frown. The pain of those memories flooded my mind. I then patted the sheriff on the shoulder. "Let's not talk about that right now, we're both alive. This is the first time we've seen each other in months. Let's think of happier things." I told him.

Rick seemed uplifted and relieved by me saying this. I followed him across the huge lawn that was now empty with walkers. This place was the perfect fortress. There were more fences around the courtyard, that held steel benches and tables within. A metal barred door swung open and I entered the prisoner's quarters, which the group had now turned into their home. "Anza!" Carl cried out, wrapping an arm around my waist. We gave each other a one-armed hug. "Carl! Aww, it's so good to see you!" I laughed, rubbing him on the head. His hair had gotten a little longer and I noticed that Carl's voice was a little deeper. He wasn't that little boy anymore.

Lori stepped out of a jail cell. Instantly, I noticed her heavily protruding stomach. A baby. It looked like she was ready to give birth any day. The others stood a little bit back, waiting patiently for me to reunite with each of them. Carol wrapped her arms around me. "You saved my life, Anza," she choked, with tears in her eyes.

I merely smiled. "I'm just glad you're all alive."

That was when some of the smiles lessened all around us. "T-Dog and Andrea didn't make it though," Glenn stated, dreading being the bringer of bad news. Maggie placed a gentle hand on his back. I felt my heart slightly break into two when he said that. T-Dog always teased me about Daryl. He was a funny guy. Although I never really got along with Andrea, I never wished death upon her. They would be missed. "At least they got to see the show." Beth added, in an attempt to cheer us up.

I looked away, frowning at this new information. I couldn't let it bring me down though. That was when I saw him. Daryl Dixon stood out from all the rest of the people around me. He lowered his crossed arms, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Daryl.

He was alive.

I could feel the tears well in my eyes. The next thing I knew, I was rushing for him. I was surprised to see Daryl running for me too. We both collided against each other, nearly falling over in the process. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I could no longer hide the tears. Daryl had his strong arms around my waist, nearly crushing me with the amount of strength he was putting into his hug. I took in his musky scent. He was sweaty and covered in dirt, but I hardly took notice of it. I was so used to it now. I missed everything about Daryl.

We stood like that for awhile, never had I been so happy to see that Daryl was alive. Daryl rested his head against mine since I was short enough too. I blinked, a few teardrops landing on his shoulder. I finally withdrew, sniffling once. I wiped away the tears with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry for crying," I laughed. "I'm just so happy to see you."

Daryl only smiled at me, pulling me back into the hug. "I thought I'd never see you again," Daryl replied in his gruff voice. The voice that I missed so much. I relished being in his presence. In his very arms. Everyone stood quietly beside the jail cells, watching this scene from afar. Smiles decorated their faces. I approached Hershel, who had a very long white beard. That wasn't the notable trait about him though. Now, he only had one leg and was using crutches. I didn't question it. I instantly knew what happened. "Glad to see you alive, Ms. Anza," Hershel greeted with a smile.

"No one can kill me, Doc." I joked, stepping forward and hugging the old man.

I shook hands with Glenn, before hugging Maggie and Beth. It was official. Glenn and Maggie were a couple. I remember those first few days when I was at the Atlanta camp, Glenn had a slight crush on me. I never had an interest in him like that. I was glad he had finally found someone. I looked back at Daryl, who was at my side. His squinted steel blue eyes peered into mine. I wondered if _he_ was my someone.


	34. Dilemma

Adam entered the prison domain with Carmen walking closely beside him. She was almost a foot shorter than her giant of a husband. Adam was almost eight feet tall with massive shoulders and arms. Most of him was muscle, which was why Adam was ideal for the Navy SEALS. There were surprised looks on everyone's faces as we passed. Adam had a six-foot, two-handed great sword in a sheath on his back. They also noticed my retracted double-edged spear. "Hell is this?" Daryl asked, poking at the sword. "He-Man?"

Adam had a grin on his face. "Got it at a knife shop, supposedly it was from an anime or whatever."

Daryl was quite amused by the sword, but didn't doubt Adam's strength. It was so heavy that neither Carmen nor I could lift it, at least, with one hand like Adam could. In his strong arms, he held my delicate nephew Alex. Beth immediately stood up once she saw Alex, not at all phased by the huge sword. "Awww, a baby!" she nearly squealed, grasping Alex's tiny hand. "It's been so long since I saw one, can I hold him?"

A corner of Carmen's mouth pulled into a slight smile. "Sure."

Beth picked up Alex in her arms. She took in his chubby cheeks, bright smile, and brown eyes. He poked her nose with a small finger. "Thank you, oh he's so cute! What's his name?" Beth asked.

"Alex."

"Oh, did you name him after your mother?"

I instantly froze. How the hell did Beth know about that? The next thing I wondered was Carmen's reaction at the mentioning of our mother. She was just as still as I was. I noticed her darkest brown eyes flicker to me with suspicion. "Yes, after my mother," Carmen responded. "Did Anza tell you?"

Her eyes never left me once. It was like she was accusing me of telling Beth, who of course, had no idea how sensitive the topic was to us.

"Oh no, Daryl did." Beth smiled at her.

Daryl told them? He talked about me while I was away? Daryl thought about me? While I was dazed by the thought of that, Adam gave an encouraging smile before walking over to me. "Daryl Dixon, right?" Adam nudged me on the shoulder. "Your boyfriend you've been talking about all winter?"

My face instantly heated up. I was blushing so badly that it hurt. Why, oh, why did I have to turn so red? Especially over something that wasn't true! But, no matter how much I told myself that. I had a feeling...

"He's not my boyfriend!" I shrieked at him.

Adam chuckled once. The way he used to tease me reminded me of T-Dog. Then, my heart hurt even more to be reminded of his death. Beth laughed alongside Adam, struggling to hold onto the one-year old nephew. Alex began talking in incoherent Spanish while Beth sat down with him on her lap. I noticed Hershel give a slight smile and hold Alex's tiny hand. That was when Rick, Daryl, and Glenn entered the room with the others just behind him. Sky and Carl exited from the bathroom together, talking and smiling. Though they quieted down once they saw us all reunited.

Carmen had a stoic look on her beautiful face. "Rick? Was it?" she asked.

The both of them shook hands. Rick nodded. "Yes, and you must be Carmen. I'm glad that some of Anza's family is alive. It's a rarity these days. Anza told us so much about you."

I swallowed the rock forming in my throat. I didn't exactly say the most positive things about Carmen. The others knew that she eloped at eighteen and hardily spoke to us. We never had the greatest relationship. Even now, in a fucking apocalypse, things weren't too much better. Carmen raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Anza and Sky have told us so much about you too," Carmen responded, in a swift voice. "Like how you let a murderer stay in your group, even after he had murdered in cold blood and tried to kill a child."

I didn't want her to get antagonistic but at the same time, she had reason to. For once. I still had issues with Rick. I might not have trusted the sheriff, but I trusted Daryl and the others. They were good people, even Rick was. It was his judgement that I sometimes despised. Everyone in the room was tense. "I made a mistake, but that's in the past." he stated, swallowing the rock forming in his throat. I could tell that Rick was extremely nervous.

"There's a difference between making a mistake and just using common sense." Carmen retorted. Her voice was passive aggressive. No expression on her face. Only her dark eyes staring at Rick accusingly. As usual, Adam said absolutely nothing. He just let his wife take over.

"Carmen, please," I sighed. "Don't start."

"I didn't start anything, Essie," Carmen answered, her voice growing more louder and firm. "They did. With their actions." Carmen then stated, her voice growing more louder and firm.

"These people are my friends." I defended.

"And I'm your family."

Her voice was like stinging ice. That was when I felt the anger flare up in me. She dared to use that word. I glowered at my much older sister, before slowly walking towards her. "Family? I don't think you know the meaning of that word. Family is being there for each other. These people were there for me," I hissed, before getting up in Carmen's face. "Now, where were you? Oh yeah, you ran off with some boy and left me and Papa all alone."

Before I could continue any further, Carmen hit me so hard across the face that I stumbled back. I could feel the side of my face throb painfully. A trickle of blood ran down the middle of my bottom lip. I instantly knew it was split.

At that very same moment, Daryl lunged forward and slammed Carmen against the cell door. Adam instantly held a handgun to Daryl's head. "Get your hands off my wife or I shoot!" Adam snarled.

"What the fuck, Carmen?!" Sky exclaimed. "Why are you tryin' to start a fight?"

She stood beside Glenn and Rick, who were trying to restrain Daryl and Adam. They were all crowded around trying to stop bloodshed from happening. "Then tell yer wife to keep her hands off her sister!" Daryl snapped back at Adam, before turning back to Carmen. "What kinda sister slaps her own kin?"

Carmen gave him a coy smile. "Not the kind that stabs them in the heart."

I noticed all of the anger instantly leave from Daryl's face. He released Carmen by the throat and stepped back. Daryl couldn't believe she just said that. I couldn't believe she just said that. Daryl glanced at me with guilt in his eyes, before quickly exiting the room. "Daryl, wait!" Beth cried out. The blond rushed after Daryl. "What the fuck, Carmen?!" I yelled in her face.

* * *

Me and Beth searched around the rooms wondering where Daryl had gone. We passed by a huge black guy and a blond haired fellow with a pointy mustache. They looked at us with confusion as to why we were in such a hurry. "Let's check the courtyard," Beth suggested. The both of us entered the courtyard. I spotted Daryl standing by himself next to a fence. His arms crossed, leaning against a steel table. I casually approached him, slightly panting from all the running around. Beth walked behind me, being the shy person she was. I stood next to him. Daryl didn't look at me. His squinted blue eyes focused else where. I followed his direction of vision. There were a couple of walkers headed our way. Beth placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I'll leave you two alone." she said, walking near the fence. I nodded to her with appreciation.

I looked back to Daryl.

"Your lip is bleeding," he then said.

I frowned once, the blood having stopped. It still ran dry on my chin. "I know."

Daryl handed me his handkerchief. I reluctantly took it and wiped off the blood from my lip and chin. "Your sis sure knows how to slap someone," Beth commented, with a frown on her face. I handed Daryl back the red piece of cloth. No one could see the blood stains on it now.

"She also knows how to be a cunt." I coldly added.

Daryl then looked away and didn't say anything. "But, she was right,"

"What? No she's not!"

Daryl got up from leaning against the table and stared down at my chest, not for reasons most people would think. His eyes were on the four inch scar above my heart. Unfortunately, my low cut black shirt sort of showcased the wound. To my shock, he lightly touched the scar with the back of his two fingers. "Does it still hurt?" Daryl asked.

"No, it's fully healed." I answered. "Just don't think about it, 'kay?"

"Don't think 'bout it? I almost killed ya, darlin'."

"It was an accident!"

"And imagine if it wasn't an accident!" Daryl nearly shouted, taking a few steps closer. He was standing so close to me. I thought I could see tears forming in Daryl's eyes. I had never seen Daryl cry. He quickly turned around to hide them. I heard him sigh loudly. "Anza, I'm damaged goods. No 'scuse for my behavior or probs." Daryl explained, his back turned to me. "I coulda killed ya. I couldn't live with myself if anythin' happened to ya.

I was going to say something until I heard the last part. I couldn't live if anything happened to ya. I didn't know what to say. It made me feel weird, not uncomfortable, but the way he said that. Daryl still had his back turned to me. My eyes were on the angel wings design on his vest.

"I think it's best if you stay away from me, prom queen. You ain't safe 'round me." Daryl said in a gruff voice.

"But you're safe around Carol and the others?" I snapped.

Daryl didn't answer me. He instead walked towards the fence to where Beth was. Four walkers were slamming their arms against the fence, screaming at Beth, whom they considered dinner. I could see their sick amber eyes and peeling green flesh. That was when I started to smell something strange. It smelled like burnt hair. I knew that zombies smelled bad, but they didn't smell like burnt wood. They smelled like the dead should. So, where was it coming from? Beth pulled out a knife and held it towards the fence where the four snarling walkers were. That was when I noticed a little bit of smoke coming from the hands of the walkers clinging to the fence. Were their hands getting burnt? My eyes widened with horror at the realization.

Before I could shout my warning cry, Beth stuck the knife through the fence into the skull of a walker. There was a sharp zapping noise and sparkle of electricity flared from the knife. Beth was thrown backwards onto the ground. "Beth!" I cried out, rushing to her side. She wasn't moving. Daryl was quickly beside me and Beth. I begin calling out her name, shaking her by her tattered shirt to wake up. Beth was unresponsive. Daryl pushed my hands away from Beth. His fingers fumbled around her neck searching for a pulse. From his blank expression, I guessed that there was none. He placed his fingers above his lips to feel his warm breath. Just a minute ago, Beth was panting from all the running we did. Daryl lowered his head to her heart expecting to hear her heartbeat.

Daryl eyed me. "Her heart stopped! Get help!"

I instantly got up and ran into the prison screaming for help. I entered what was the lounge of the prison, which was actually the cafeteria. The others all looked at me with shock on their faces. They were still in the middle of talking about the little facedown from earlier. "What's wrong, Anza?!" Rick asked.

"The fence electrocuted Beth!" I yelled on the top of my lungs.

Immediately, everyone was to their feet. We all rushed out of the room for me to show them where Daryl was. Maggie arrived on the scene first. She covered her mouth in horror at the sight of her sister. She was forced to overcome it in order to save Beth. "Give us some space!" Maggie shouted, shoving everyone away from the motionless Beth. I stood as closely as I could. I noticed that Daryl was trembling the whole time. Maggie plugged Beth's nose and then placed her lips on her sister's. I thought it was bizarre and could see that Glenn was just as uncomfortable about it as I was. Then, I realized that Maggie was doing CPR. I could see Beth's chest rising and falling. She began pushing the heel of her palm over the spot above Beth's heart. We all stood a few feet away from Maggie in silence and watched her save Daryl's life. Maggie knew exactly what she was doing.

I waited impatiently to hear his breath of life. It went on for minutes. By that time, Hershel had arrived. Rick and Daryl helped Hershel sit on the ground to help Maggie revive Beth. Every moment was agony for me and my hope for him living through this lessened each second. Maggie leaned over to blow more air into Beth.

Beth was still unresponsive.

After what seemed like years, Carmen spoke up. "It's been almost forty minutes, Maggie. I think–"

"–I don't care what you think!" Maggie snarled. "This is my sister!"

"Maggie." Hershel then said, in a serious voice.

Through the hot tears, she stared at her father. Hershel sadly shook his head. We all knew what that meant.

Beth was dead.

But, my sorrow was instantly dissipated when we heard a small cough from Beth. Maggie instantly began crying with joy, brushing her sister's platinum blond hair out of her face. "No, she's alive! Oh thank God!" Maggie scolded her sister. "Beth, you idiot, don't ya know you coulda died–"

Her eyes fluttered open and that was when we all gasped in terror. All of us instantly backed away. Beth's bright blue eyes were now replaced with the sour yellow of a walkers'. Maggie let out a loud scream before falling backwards into Glenn's arms. Hershel closed his eyes as he sat beside his turned daughter. I could see him holding the pain inside. Beth growled once, reaching up for her father. Not for a hug, but for a bite. Lori and Carol quickly helped Hershel to his feet and got him away from his walker daughter. I stepped towards the newly turned Beth, warily. "Hershel, we have to do it," I said, my voice shaky.

Hershel looked away. "I know." he replied.

That was when Rick walked over and slid his knife into the skull of Beth. She then lay motionless. As soon as Maggie saw that, she fainted into Glenn's arms. Carmen turned to Rick with accusing eyes. "What fucking setting do you have the electric fence on?" she demanded. "So much for it being safe!"

"It's not supposed to kill with a first touch, just keep intruders up," Rick answered, guilt on his face. Axel turned to the big, bulky black guy named Oscar. "Did you turn up the setting on the electric fence?"

"We didn't touch it," Oscar answered, in his deep voice. "The setting was on low. Just enough to keep intruders out."

Suddenly, the prison alarms went off. I covered my ears from the deafening voice. "I think the alarms are sounding!" Rick cried over the loudness.

A disgusting looking hand instantly gripped Sky hard by the shoulder. I tried around to see a walker open its jaws and try to sink its teeth into her. Sky let out a startled shriek, holding back the walker from biting her by its neck. About ten more of them followed after her. Lori and Carl, who were at her side, jumped back just as startled. But, that was when Lori grabbed the hunting knife in Sky's back pocket and stabbed the zombie with it. We were suddenly surrounded by dozens of walkers.

A teenaged boy walker rushed behind Lori and snapped its jaws around her neck. Lori let out a cry in agony. "No!" I hollered, shooting the walker in the face. It collapsed to the ground lifelessly. Me and Lori then stared at each other. Blood started to pour from her neck wound. We didn't say anything. We already knew.

Daryl snapped out of his traumatized glance at Beth's body to see the herd moving towards us. By this time, Alex had started crying. Carmen was screaming on the top of her lungs for her baby. I scooped Alex up in my arms before a walker could get to him. We couldn't reach the others though. The horde of walkers separated us. "What are ya waitin' for, lets go!" Daryl shouted, grabbing me and Lori by our arms. He didn't pay any attention to the bite wound that was on Lori's neck.

Daryl began leading us past the crowd of walkers as best as he could. I was surprised when Carl started shooting walkers alongside Sky, who was knifing them in the heads. This definitely made clearing a path easier for Daryl. I clutched my crying nephew in my arms. We had to run past all the walkers to avoid getting grabbed or singled out and overwhelmed by the mass. Like we had done before, we had to kill in order to clear our path. Through out it all, Daryl never once let go of me.

**(Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I was really behind in school. I'm a little caught up now so enjoy. And I promise I won't cocktease you with the romance like the Spider-Man trilogy did. Patience is a virtue ;D and this isn't a one-shot. And yeah, I killed off Beth. I personally felt that she had nothing to really add to the series. I get annoyed by Bethyl fans because it's like...they had two episodes together and already you're pairing them up? Do you have to pair Daryl up with everybody? C'mon guys...)**


	35. Sacrifice

We ran, we ran, and we ran. Anywhere but the prison, which was now flooded with walkers. I wondered if the walkers were still chasing us. I was particularly worried about Lori, who was carrying thirty pounds of extra baggage called her pregnancy, and not being a fit runner like some of us were. Now, it was the bite on her neck that I feared. After about five minutes of running in the forest, we came to a stop. Everyone, including myself, was panting. I lowered Alex to the ground, my arms sore from running and carrying the toddler for a mile. Lori was wheezing terribly, before collapsing to the ground. Daryl spat on the ground. "I think we lost 'em." he breathed.

"Mom, your shoulder!" Carl then exclaimed.

Lori just sat there helplessly, holding her hand to the profusely bleeding wound. The left side of her shoulder was stained red. "You got bit!" Sky exclaimed, covering her mouth.

Alex pointed up at Lori, where her bite mark was. "Ella consig mord?" he asked, in his incoherent Spanish baby talk. It basically translated to "she got bit?".

I patted my nephew on the head. "Sí."

Alex frowned once, before staring at the ground. I wondered what effect this world would have on this child. Almost three years old and already exposed to traumatic things such as this. At least, Alex would never know what things used to be like. Lori rubbed her bleeding neck. "It happened when I saved Sky from those walkers." she explained.

"You shoulda just let me get bit, Lori," Sky chastised in a loud voice, as if she was angry at Lori for saving her life. "Nothing is worth an orphan like me anyway."

"Oh, that's not true, honey," Lori said with a light smile.

Carl started crying. That was the first time in a long time since I had seen that happen. He had grown up so much since I left. I remembered just before we got seperated how cold and emotionless Carl was becoming. When I returned, Carl was spiteful of Lori. Now, I finally saw him let down his walls that he built towards his mother. I approached Lori to better examine the wound. I could see her grimancing in pain, Lori's shoulder was tensed up. The neck wound was deep. The ripped flesh shaped distinctly like a bite mark, with the holes making me cringe. Nothing was said. We already knew Lori's fate. "We saved Hershel, we can save you!" Sky exclaimed.

Lori snickered once. "What are you going to do? Chop my head off?" she then sighed. "Though I'm sure Rick wants nothing more than to do that."

"That's not true!" Sky exclaimed.

Lori didn't say anything, her eyes staring blankly at the dirt ground before her. "Rick hates me. I'm a terrible mother. I can't fight like you or even Sky. Maybe I deserve this for all the pain I've caused everyone...I divided our group...and I abandoned Rick for someone else the moment I thought he was dead." I could see tears welling in her eyes as she was on the verge of breaking down. "I deserve this."

I knelt down in front of Lori. "Yeah, you've made some shit mistakes. It's not really any of my business but that doesn't mean you deserve to die. I know Rick wouldn't want that. He may be mad at you, but he stills loves you. Someone like Shane...deserved to fucking die."

Lori gave a slight smile at my attempt to defend her. "That's up for debate," she laughed, placing her hands on her pregnant belly. "But, one thing's for sure, my baby doesn't deserve to die."

I didn't say anything. My only suggestion was a C-section but I wasn't sure about mentioning it. I didn't want to be the bringer of bad news. But, Lori said it for me. She looked up at Daryl with a determined look in her eyes. "Daryl, I want you to perform a C-section and get this baby out before she or he can get infected."

We all stepped back stunned by what she had said. Daryl was wide eyed. "I ain't never done a C-section before!" he stated.

"But, you know how to skin animals and remove their organs."

"You ain't a buck, Lori!"

"No, but you have the best experience with a knife than any of us do. If Anza tried cutting into my stomach, she'd probably cut the baby in half."

Daryl looked horrified at the prospect of cutting open Lori. Being the one to kill Lori. Carl tugged on his mother's arm. "There's no way I'm going to make it anyway," Lori continued on, looking over to her bite wound. "But, if there's a chance that my child can make it without getting infected, I'll take it without a second thought."

"Mom, I'm sorry about everything I said to you before!" Carl cried, holding onto his mother tightly. Lori ruffled her son's dark hair with her delicate hands. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. As did all of us. Sky had her mouth covered with her hands, but her face was stained with tears. Alex was sitting beside Sky cluelessly as to what was going on. I could see Daryl trying to hide his ters as well. But, I could see his steel blue eyes watering with sorrow. Lori then withdrew from her son's embrace to place her hands on his shoulders. Carl looked up to his mother one last time.

"Carl...baby, I don't want you to be scared. I want this for the baby. This needs to be done. Take care of your Daddy for me, okay? And your little brother or sister, you take care of them. You are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, you're strong and you are so brave. I love you. You gotta do what's right, baby. Promise me that you will do what's right. It's easy to do the wrong thing in this world. If it feels wrong and easy, then don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you." she stopped, her voice began to crack. "You are so good. My sweet, sweet boy. You're the best thing that I ever made. I love you."

I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. A single tear rolled down Carl's face. Lori sat down on the ground before giving her son one last hug. Lori took a deep breath. She looked up at me. "Thank you, Anza...for what you said to me."

I gave a half smile. "Your welcome."

Daryl reluctantly approached her with his knife drawn, which trembled in his hand. His matted brown hair covered his face. I peeked over to see Daryl gritting his teeth, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I-I can't do this," he stammered. "I can't!"

I placed my hand gently on his. My hand was gentle as opposed to the roughness of his skin. Daryl looked me square in the eye with surprise. I had never seen him cry before. "You can do this, I'll be right here." I told him. "This is the only thing we can do for Lori and the baby."

I squeezed his hand once, the one that held the knife.

"Doesn't make it any easier." Daryl muttered.

"I know." I answered. "But, it'll be okay in the end."

With a deep breath, Daryl sliced the knife across her stomach. Lori yelled on top of her lungs, arching her back in absolute agony. At the same time, Lori tried to restrain herself from any movement, even though she was being cut open. "STOP! YOU'RE HURTING HER! DARYL STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HER!" Carl screamed at Daryl, who was focusing on saving the baby. Alex was wailing in Sky's arms, who watched the sad scene unfold.

"She's already dead! You can't save her!" I said to Carl, wrapping my arms around him. He looked like he was about to attack Daryl. His emotions were controlling him. The both of us fell back in the dirt. I held onto Carl tightly as he calmed down to the best of his ability. Blood gushed out from Lori's cut open stomach. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her face fell limp to her side. Lori's long dark hair strewn across the dirt ground. Daryl set down the knife after making the cut. He stuck his hands inside Lori's stomach. There was a squishy sloshy sound as he gently pulled the baby out. It was silent. There was no crying. The baby wasn't breathing. I turned the baby around in Daryl's bloody hands to tap her lightly on the back. Instantly, the baby began crying and we knew she was alive. Daryl handed me the baby afterwards.

That was when I saw Lori raise a weak hand in the air. As if she was reaching out to the baby in my arms. Her breathing sounded gaunt and terrible. At first, I thought she had turned into a walker. Instead, when Lori opened her weak eyes. I saw the familiar chocolate brown as opposed to the sick yellow irises that walkers had. Lori looked extremely pale and fragile from the blood loss and shock of being cut open without painkillers. She was on the brink of death. Probably only had seconds to live.

"Let me see..." she muttered, less than a whisper. "...My...baby..."

"Sit Lori up so she can see the baby." I ordered. Sky and Carl were instantly by Lori's side, holding her up with their own arms. Carl had his arms wrapped around his mother in a loving manner. I slid the naked bloody baby into Lori's arms. Her arms were limp, only being seconds away from dying, so I placed my hands on Lori's arms so she could properly hold her baby.

"It's a girl, Lori." I told her. "Do you want to name your daughter?"

"Judith..." Lori said without hesitation. "Esperanza...Grimes..."

My eyes widened with surprise. Lori managed to smile through the blood loss and the weakness.

"Judith Esperanza Grimes," I nodded. "That's a good name."

We all watched as Lori spent her last moments with her daughter. Lori raised a weakened finger to Judith, poking her soft cheek. Judith wasn't crying as much, though she finally opened her dark eyes to the terrible world around her. Judith gazed up upon her mother for what would be the only time. "Beautiful..." Lori breathed, smiling down upon her daughter. Her smile began to slowly fade away. I noticed that her grip around Judith lessened, forcing me to hold onto the baby.

"Lori?" I asked.

The only answer I got was Lori's blank, unfocused gaze into space. That was when we knew she was dead.

Carl gave me his jacket to wrap the baby in. I held Judith tightly to my chest to prevent her from getting cold. "We have to go," I stated. I turned back to the others. Daryl was staring at the blood on his hands. Carl was mourning over his mother's bloodied body. Sky held onto Alex's hand and tugged on Carl's shirt. "Carl, we have to go."

"We have to put my Mom down, make sure she doesn't come back." Carl stated, taking the hunting knife that was used to cut open Lori. Sky frowned once. "Want me to do it?" she asked. "You shouldn't have to do this, Lori was your mother."

Carl didn't answer. He stabbed the knife into the side of Lori's head. When he withdrew the knife, blood poured out from Lori's already dead corpse. Her eyes were still wide open. Carl gently placed his fingers over her eyelids and closed them. We would never see those brown eyes ever again. But, we didn't deserve for them to turn yellow either. Without an emotion, Carl walked past me.

Judith whimpered in my arms, I could feel her bloody face against my bare neck. Sky worriedly followed after Carl, still clinging tight to Alex as to not lose track of the toddler. "Let's go." I said to Daryl.

He glanced up at me once before getting to his feet. Daryl walked alongside me through the forest. We quickly grouped together as to not crash into any walkers. We first had to make sure the place was clear. The prison alarms were shut off minutes ago as I could no longer hear them. I don't remember when. But, how could I with Lori dying? Most of the walkers were outside of the prison fences. So, the five of us had to run to the entrance without getting caught. Daryl picked up Alex with one arm and carried him to save Sky the trouble of having to. Alex started getting scared when he saw the walkers drawing near, just as he had been trained to be by Carmen and Adam.

We finally reached the courtyard with the others. They were putting dead walkers into piles. Maggie sat beside the dead body of Beth with Hershel and Glenn mourning beside her. Carmen and Adam rushed towards Daryl to reclaim their son. Carmen squished her son half to death in her arms. "Alex!" she cried out. "Gracias, Daryl, Gracias!"

Me and my sister exchanged looks but said nothing. Adam comforted his wife over reuniting with their alive son. Rick immediately ran towards me once he saw me holding the bloody bundle of joy. "Lori had the baby? W-Where is she?" Rick asked, expecting to see her. "Anza? Where is she? I-I don't see her."

"R-Rick. She..." I stopped. "She got bitten on our way out and...wanted us to save her baby so we..."

Had to cut her open. Rick already got the picture. He looked to his son in horror. "Carl?..." he asked.

Carl looked like he was about to burst into tears, suddenly Rick knew it was true. Rick started walking backwards in a daze. "No...Oh no no no..." Rick cried, collapsing to the ground. "No. Lori. No...she can't be..."

He started crying. I trembled as I held the now crying baby. "Th-There was nothing I could do, Rick. I-I'm sorry." I sobbed. Carol approached me and took the baby from my arms. I covered my crying eyes with my hand. Sky wrapped her arms around me, leaning her head against my back.

We all could only watch as Rick uncontrollably broke down in tears and sobs. It went on for a while until he suddenly stopped. As if Rick suddenly had control. He grabbed the hatchet and headed towards the outside. "Where is Lori's body?" Rick demanded from me.

"R-Rick, don't go out there." I stuttered, trying to stop him. I placed a hand on his shoulder. He ignored me, shaking off my hand off. Rick opened the gate and ran into the woods, past the couple of walkers stationed outside. We all stayed back at the prison, devastated by the aftermath of what happened today.


	36. Voices and Noises

"What the hell happened?" Carmen demanded, stomping in front of the stunned Axel and Oscar. "I thought you said this place was secure! Now there was a fucking breach and these people are dead!"

"A-Andrew came back!" Axel stammered. "It ain't our fault!"

"What? Who the fuck is Andrew?!" exclaimed Carmen.

Axel was clearly intimidated by Carmen, though I'm sure it was because he felt guilty over what happened. "Uh, you see, Andrew just wanted his revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Y-Yeah, on Rick for killing Tomas."

Carmen narrowed his eyes into a glare, turning around to the entire group. "Well no wonder this happened then."

I got up to my feet and marched in front of my sister. "Carmen, drop it, right now or I'm never talking with you again!" I yelled in her face. "Lori and Beth were killed today, so shut up!"

"There's a reason why, Anza!" Carmen hissed. "I'm only looking out for us!"

Adam and Sky placed a white blanket over the bloodied body of Beth, which had partially been devoured by the walkers. Hershel walked over to Maggie with his crutches and pulled his daughter into a hug. Maggie was irricounsible, tears staining her blank face. Daryl was just as traumatized as Maggie while Carol was trying to comfort the crying newborn Judith. Sky was comforting the distraught Carl.

Carmen picked up Alex, who was started to babble in Spanish. Maggie then stepped into Carmen's face. "You are not welcome here! You're the reason my little sister is dead!" she shrieked. "Now, get the fuck out and don't come back!

Maggie violently shoved Carmen.

"Now!" Maggie screamed. "Get out! No wonder Anza hates you!"

Carmen didn't say anything, only her stern look on her face. "Bah bah?" Alex asked, grabbing some of his mother's darkest brown hair. Carmen held onto Alex tightly before turning to me. "You know where to find me, Anza. I'm sorry about your friends died." she said to me, her voice not antagonistic this time. With that, Carmen began walking out of the prison. Alex smiled and waved once at me. Adam frowned once before following after his wife. I felt a strong hang gently place itself on my left shoulder. I looked back to see that it was Daryl. I exhaled with depression. I went back to watching what was left of my family leave the prison. "The world feels the same to me, just as lifeless." I mumbled. "Just as hopeless."

Sky patted me on the back. "It'll be okay."

"It's never okay." I answered, walking away from Daryl's grasp.

* * *

I found myself walking through a white mist. It was hard to see with everything being so hazy. But, I could clearly see that I was standing in the middle of a huge bridge that crossed over a channel of water. I noticed water lilies floating down the river. As well as the stench of salt.

Saltwater? We weren't near an ocean though.

I felt a presence from behind me and dared to look. There were hundreds of people standing only a few yards away from me. They stood absolutely still. When I looked back to the other side of the bridge, I saw only a fog of white. I couldn't see anything past it.

Suddenly, one of people disseminated into a swarm of white moths. One by one, they all blew up into white moths. I could feel the little bugs crashing against my skin. I was in the middle of a storm of white moths formed from those hundreds of people. I screamed once, covering my face. That was when I saw the side to the bridge. I ran towards it and jumped off. The bugs were gone. Now, I was falling. Hundreds of feet in the air. I could feel the stabbing cold wind. And the gravity making my stomach sick. Then, I hit the concrete water. The water filled with water lilies.

I knew I was dead.

I wish it had just ended there but it didn't.

I felt my body being pulled out of the water. All I could see was a blood red sky. The bridge was crumbled and the landscape was in ruin. The river of water lilies had dried up, leaving only the dry ground. Something grabbed me by the collar. A skeleton was hovering over me. I was numb. I couldn't scream or do anything. I was frozen. There were no eyes in the skull, only replaced with holes. Despite that, I felt that the skeleton could still see me. Because I felt it.

Someone knocked the skeleton away from me? Was that a...pilgrim? What the fuck was a pilgrim doing here? The skeleton sunk its teeth into my arm. Blood spurted out like a fountain. It ripped out a chunk of my flesh from my arm. I could see my own bone.

At that time, I did scream.

And wake up to the metal bars of the cell I was in. I was on the lower bunk while Carol slept soundly above me. There was no skeletons. There were no white moths. There were no fucking pilgrims. But, there were still walkers.

I couldn't go to sleep after that. What was even worse was I began to hear noises. It sounded like there was rustling of leaves outside my cell door. I also began to hear whispers throughout the vast empty hall of the prison. It scared me. I felt like something was watching me. "I want to fly," whispered a man's voice. "The sky is ours, Anza."

"Go away," I breathed. "I want my Dad."

I heard the gentle laughter of children that was so low I could barely hear it. I couldn't pin point where it was coming from. It sounded like it was all around me. Now, I was scared. I immediately got out of my bed and rushed quietly out of the cell. There was only one person I truly felt safe with: Daryl.

I approached his cell. The door was open unlike the other ones. I guessed that Daryl didn't like the feeling of being even more trapped. Then, I was even more scared. I didn't want to wake Daryl up just because I was a baby scared of the dark. But, I was terrified. The voices and the noises wouldn't stop. No matter how hard I'd tried to sleep. I wondered why no one else could hear or realize that this place was at least haunted.

I quietly tip toed into Daryl's room. I could hear him drawing in wisps of breath. Although it was dark, with only the moonlight to guide me, I could see that Daryl was sleeping peacefully. I hated having to wake him up. This time I was careful, I didn't want to alarm Daryl into stabbing me in the heart again. I reached out and shook one of his muscled arms. "Hmm?" Daryl mumbled, immediately awake. "Anza? Whaddyu want?"

His voice was drowsy, but trying to be awake in case of an emergency. I clutched myself, feeling small and alone. "Daryl, are you there?"

"Course I am, what did you expect to find?" Daryl shifted over, turning his back to me and facing the wall. "Now go to sleep."

"I can't...I...I'm scared," I whispered.

"Why?" he grumbled, still not turning around.

I couldn't tell him. How could I tell someone that I had been hearing voices? That I believed the ghost of my father was haunting me? The ghost of Dale haunting me? So, I came up with a better lie. "I think this place is haunted." My voice wavered. "I keep hearing voices and noises outside my cell."

I heard Daryl groan with annoyance in his sleep. "What are you? Twelve? There's no such thing as ghosts, now get out of my cell and go back to sleep."

That was when I felt all of the fear take me over. It was like a dam had been broken inside me. I instantly crumbled to the floor, panicked and wide eyed with fear. "No! no! no! I don't want to be alone!" I nearly exclaimed. "Please, please, please!"

Daryl was immediately awake and jumped out of his bunk. He was instantly at my side trying to help. "Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter?" Daryl asked. "Why are you like this?"

I sniffled once. "I don't know...Daryl...there is a world...beyond our own, where monsters live...and they're waiting for me." I said to him. "I know they're real, I'm the only one who lives in their world."

_"What?"_ Daryl asked. _"What the fuck are you talking about?"_

"They say monsters don't exist, but I have seen them. We have seen them. It's not just inside my head, Daryl." I rambled on. "The walkers and the men are the same, they look at me like I'm a piece of meat and–"

"–Shh, shh, shh..." Daryl interrupted, wrapping his muscled arms around me. "Ain't gonna let anythin' happen to ya, Anza. You're safe with me." He began rocking back and forth with his arms cradled around me. I felt like a helpless little baby. After I had calmed down a bit, Daryl helped me to my feet. He grabbed my hand before dragging me into his bed. Daryl drew the blankets over us and I was surprised that the both of us fit into the bunk. Both of us were skinny people, although Daryl had some toned muscle. Since the outbreak, we all lost weight. Stress, lack of food, lack of exercise, and going insane were contributing factors. I know I certainly had lost weight and most of that wasn't a good thing. Now, all the fear and terror was eradicated from me. I was with Daryl. We had never been this close to each other. It didn't take long for Daryl to drift off into sleep. To my surprise, Daryl wrapped an arm over me. I wondered if he consciously did that or unconsciously did. I felt even more joy at the comforting weight, before scooting closer to lay against Daryl's chest. I smiled once to myself before closing my eyes.

I was safe.

The voices were silent for the rest of the night.

**(Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I DID start to pick things up from here ;D I haven't updated this story because I was SUPER busy with college. Finally passed and am on Spring Break. Now, all I wanna do is relax. I'm also writing other stories, which complicates things xD hopefully I can update more. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wonder what's going on with Anza :p)**


	37. Till Now

I sat in a wooden rocking chair, swaying back and forth with Judith in my arms. The three day old baby was swaddled in a thick, soft blanket. I smiled sadly to myself, looking down upon her now flakey skin. Beautiful, Lori had breathed. I couldn't help but think back to that moment every time.

_"Como estas?"_

Adam peered out from the door. His hands were bloodied, almost slipping off the mop he was holding. Judith and I were in the nursery of the abandoned Woodbury Hospital, which was ten miles from the prison. The entire room was a mess; tables and chairs were knocked over, the cupboards ransacked, and there were blood splatters all over room.

And here I was sitting in a rocking chair feeding a newborn baby.

_"Bueno."_ I replied with look of displeasure on my face. Luckily, Adam could take the hint better than Carmen could. My sister never cared how I would feel, even towards her. Adam scratched his shortly trimmed dark hair before talking to himself in Spanish. He was saying how coming here was a mistake because of Woodbury. Those bandits at Woodbury wouldn't think to go near the place since the town was completely taken over by walkers. The only way you could reach it was through the sewers. Most of the traveling to buildings we did was through the sewers anyway.

Sky and Carl volunteered to be the clean-up crew. Their job was moving dead bodies before scrubbing down the entire room top to bottom. There were a couple of rooms that Carmen wanted to operate in, mainly just the emergency room. There was so much blood dried out everywhere. From splatters to slashes, it told a story in itself. Civilians had been lined up and gunned down by the military. Apparently, the military had not only fired walkers, but on civilians and patients in the hospital as well. That was a new kind of fucked up.

Judith hiccupped once from consuming too much formula at once. "Oopsy, someone's got the hiccups!" I cooed to her, before turning to Sky and Carl. "Where did you put all of the bodies by the way?"

Sky and Carl looked once to each other once. That was when Sky snickered, looking genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. "Let's just say that the term 'skeleton in the closet' is in the past," she joked.

I rolled my eyes at her lame attempt at lightening up the mood. Although it worked for me, the same couldn't be said for Carl. The young boy had no emotion on his face. Not that I could blame him, Lori had only died three days ago. We lost Beth and T-Dog as well. I couldn't count how many we had lost. It hurt too much thinking about it.

"Why don't you just throw the bodies out the window?" I suggested.

Her face lit up. "That's a great idea!"

"When will Carmen be ready to give Judith her shots?" Carl asked in a monotone voice, completely changing the subject. "We shouldn't be here for much longer."

"They're scouting the hospital out and making sure no walkers are in different parts," I answered. "Give it some time, Carl."

"They also need to look for the medicine." Sky added.

While they cleaned up the nursery, Carl looked for some supplies such as; blankets, diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, and toys, all for his newborn sister. Alex came running in laughing with his arms up in the air. The two-year old toddler crashed through all the stacked blocks on the floor.

These children had no idea what they were in for in this life. Hopefully, they wouldn't have the fear that we did. Maybe growing up with walkers would be somehow normal to him.

Eventually, Alex got bored of that and started tugging on Sky's dark hair and pinching her cheeks. Sky sat on the floor entertaining the little two year old. _"Juga conmogo!"_ Alex cried out, waving a toy at Carl.

"He wants you to play with him," I translated. Alex still slurred a lot of his words, both Spanish and English. That made it hard to understand him at times. Carl shook his head and went off onto the other side of the nursery. Alex tilted his head with confusion. Carl wasn't as eager to play with him as Sky was. I felt so bad for the kid for losing his mother like that.

Carmen eventually came in with a couple of vaccinations and a medical kit. "Alright, we prepared one of the rooms," she beckoned to me. Carl immediately was at the door while Carmen curtly turned to Sky. No light in her darkest brown eyes. "Sky, watch Alex," she ordered, turning her heel and leaving the room at once. "You two, come with me."

_"Next time say please."_ Sky grumbled under her breath.

The three of us stalked down the hallway, our footsteps echoing. It was dark inside the hospital, with wheelchairs, hospital beds, papers, supplies, and junk scattered across the tiled floor. There was so much blood all over the floor and walls. Luckily, most of the walkers had been rounded up and trapped in some rooms. Adam stepped over a heavily mutiliated body. "I found the emergency generators, need those up?" my brother-in-law inquired. "We could use some of the machinery here."

"Not nessesary,"

"Why not?" I inquired.

Carmen looked at me. "It would only attract the walkers attention."

"That's if you dun' attract the walkers with all yer talkin'." sneered a familiar Southern accented voice. I heard the noise of boots squeaking through out the hallway. Relief washed over me and I felt as if my heart being lifted up into the clouds. I knew who it was.

Daryl. Daryl was here. I couldn't help it that my cheeks turned slightly red. I liked having him around, especially when I had to deal with a cold bitch like Carmen. "Hey, Hick, didn't know you were coming." I smiled up at him.

"What a pleasant surprise." Carmen said in a bored voice.

Daryl raised his eyebrows once at me in a cocky way. "I ain't leavin' y'all here alone, especially Ass-Kicker, with all dem walkers."

Daryl was staring at me the entire time he said that, I wondered if that was the only reason. Carmen glowered at him, nothing but contempt for the man. "We'd actually be better off alone," Carmen sniffed. "We don't need any more accidents."

"No need to get all uppity, Carmel." Daryl stated, purposely messing up on her name. I could tell Daryl wasn't going to put up with her coldness any longer.

_"Carmen."_ she corrected him.

"Fine." Daryl scoffed, clearly not caring. He was as such a smart ass sometimes, that used to really annoy the hell out of me when we first met. In a strange way, now I treasured it. Daryl could always make me laugh and smile.

The four of us went into the hallway, where the emergency room used to be. Adam had managed to clear out the hall and one room. I placed Judith on the moveable hospital bed while Carl unwrapped her blanket. Judith whimpered from the loss of warmth. Carmen did the usual; heart rate, breathing, weight, length, height, and temperature. She also cleaned Judith's umbilical cord stump. Judith was okay on all of those. Then, Carmen pulled out the dreaded shots. Two of them.

"This is the vitamin K shot since newborns usually have low levels of it, needed so the blood can clot better in case of injury," Carmen explained to Carl.

"My sister isn't going to be injured." Carl declared, in a slightly antagonistic voice.

Carmen continued on as if he hadn't said anything, "The other is the first Hepatitis B vaccine she needs to take."

"The first?"

"They take the second one at two months, and the third one in about five months after."

With that done, Carmen then sanitized Judith's chunky thighs with a wipe before injecting the vaccine into it. We all winced in distress for Judith. It was a split second before the needle was out, that was how quick Carmen was. However, it was still very painful to Judith. Immediately, Judith burst into tears, before crying even louder at the second shot. The more painful and anticipated one. After she was done, Carmen lifted Judith up in her arms and began patting her lightly on the back.

"It's okay now, we're all done, sugar." Carmen said in a comforting way to Judith. After a few moments, Judith had calmed down and began gnawing on Carmen's shirt. It was as if Judith had never received her shots. If only I could forget as easily as a newborn baby could. At least Carmen knew how to be a mother. Judith was going to need that.

Carl hastily took his baby sister out of her arms. Clearly, he was anxious to leave, Carl hadn't stopped fidgeting. Carl eyed Carmen wearily She then crossed her arms. "Your baby is healthy and of course, not infected."

We would've known if she was infected a long time ago, Carmen, I thought critically to myself. Carl nodded before placing Judith in the carrier, wrapped up in her blanket again. Adam entered the room with Alex in his arms and Sky beside him. _"Al coche está listo, el amor."_ Adam informed me and Carmen. I could see Sky roughly trying to translate that. I had been trying to teach her Spanish these past six months.

Daryl placed his hands over his ears, immensely irritated that he couldn't understand us. "Speak English!" he spat out. "This is America, not Mexico!"

Carmen's darkest brown eyes darted to him. "Don't you mean _' 'Murica'?"_ she mimicked, poorly imitating a Southern accent on purpose. I could see Daryl darken at that. I let out a small sigh. Here we go again, Carmen trying to start a fight again. "No." Daryl answered back, looking at her like she was dumb. I could tell that he was trying to restrain himself from yelling back. I wondered if it was because I was here.

"Carmen, please!" I begged, then saying in a quieter voice. "Not here."

"Then where? When?"

"How about never.:

Adam gave her a look too. For once, he was actually putting in some input. Even if it was just that look. I hated how subservient he was to Carmen. I hated how it was Adam that took Carmen away from us. He placed a hand on her shoulder and I couldn't help but glower at Adam. Stress faded from Carmen's brow. With a dirty look, she said. "Fine, but we're leaving."

Carl walked with Adam and Carmen down the hall, holding Judith in her baby carrier. Reluctantly, Sky tagged along with them. Their footsteps against the tiles echoed through out the halls. Before fading away entirely. I was about to take a step forward when Daryl gently grabbed my by the shoulder. He had a dead serious look on his face. "What is it?" I inquired.

The corner of his mouth pulled into a smirk. "Wanna learn how to ride a motorcycle?"

My eyes went wide, but then I gave a breathy chuckle. "Just as long as you're the one teaching me." I smiled at him.

* * *

As I exited the steam tunnels underneath the hospital, I was shocked at what I had saw. There was the ol' 87 red Suburban truck I stole from my annoying neighbor Debbie. Attached to the truck was Daryl's trailer, which had his Harley and my Yamaha. I approached my truck, gripping the grille guard in awe. Daryl stood beside me with his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face. "Can't believe you saved the truck," I breathed. "All of my belongings were in there."

Daryl patted me on the shoulders with his bare, muscled arm. "And still are," he gazed down at me. "Been takin' care of them for ya. C'mon!"

Daryl sped around to open the driver's seat, before getting in. I was left with the passenger seat, but I didn't mind him being the driver. Daryl was going to drive us to a secluded area where hopefully no one could find us. I was only worried that some walkers would appear. Daryl motioned back to his crossbow, a rifle, and handgun in the back. The trailer noisily bounced behind us as it was dragged through a few holes. Daryl was driving through a dirt path in the forest.

"You better not be driving a hundred miles again like you did back in Atlanta," I reminded him. "You aren't a NASCAR driver."

That made Daryl chuckle once. "I'll try not to, darlin'."

I noticed one of my photo albums on the dashboard. I grabbed it and flipped the cover open. It read _'Esperanza Alexandra Cruz'_ with my birth date written underneath it. The photo album that my mother had made even before I was born. Photos of my pregnant mother, me as a newborn, me as a toddler, me as a child, me as a preteen, and then it ended. Because my mother had died and never completed it. Thinking about it made me depressed, so I tossed it into the back. "Thanks for taking care of this, Daryl," I said to him in a low tone. "These precious mementos are all I have left of my family."

I rubbed the family photo I pulled from the album, taken when I was five years old. Dad, Mom, Carmen, and I were in it. All of our happy, bright smiling faces. It looked like nothing could tear that family apart. Not even walkers. But, it did. The death of my mother being the catalyst.

Daryl bowed his head once, a toothpick in his mouth. "Dun mention it."

"I just did though," I said playfully, giving him an innocent smile.

He rolled his eyes at that, but couldn't suppress grin on his face. Daryl stopped talking after that. His eyes were focused on the road. Trying to lighten up the mood and start another conversation, I asked, "I have a shit ton of stuff in this car that I have to take care of," I let out an exhausted sigh. "I could lose all of these sentimental items any day."

"True, but you won't lose the memories." Daryl answered.

That made me smile and light up my spirits. He was right. I wouldn't lose all the memories I had with my family. "Do you have any sentimental shit you have to take care of?"

He didn't respond right away. His lips were mashed into a straight line. "I do, but they're not precious to me. I wish everyday that I could lose them, but I can't. These scars will stay with me forever."

The scars on his back? I winced after he said that, hiding behind a curtain of my dark hair. Now, I had upset him and felt so bad for saying that. The last thing I wanted was to make Daryl miserable. It had been so long since I had been with Daryl. I didn't want to spend my time looking back. At least, not the whole time. All I knew about Daryl was that he had a terrible childhood.

_He...did things to me,_ Daryl had said to me, back when he was teaching me how to do a twitch-up snare at the Greene farm. My stomach felt sick after remembering how Daryl worded that. But, Daryl teaching me how to hunt and survive was what stopped the animosity between us.

Daryl had a faraway look in his eyes and was gripping the stirring wheel tightly. "I'm sorry I said anything." I apologized, staring at my lap. I felt his calloused hand on top of mine. My eyes darted to him. There was nothing but kindness on his face, though his matted brown hair made it difficult to see his own eyes. His beautiful steel blue eyes. "Don't worry 'bout it, prom queen." Daryl replied. "We're gonna have a great day today, I'm finally gonna teach you how to ride that damn motorcycle you found. Haven't been able to do shit since then.

"Till now," I added.

Daryl nodded his head once. "Till now," he agreed.


End file.
